Miles To Go Before I Sleep
by MugetsuPipefox
Summary: A collection of one-shots/drabbles focusing on Jack and his life both before and after he becomes a Guardian. No particular order. No pairings/romance. Requests accepted.
1. Opposites

**Hey guys! Yes, yes, for those of you who read my other active story 'Tempest' I do apologise. I am still suffering from technical difficulties, which are explained in greater detail on my profile page.**

**Now, this is a series of loosely related one-shots (and some arcs) that will be updated on my whim (yeah, sorry about that. But I have plot bunnies and not much time). Starting with a chapter that contains mostly OCs is not a great idea, I know, but the characters established here are explained and may turn up now and again in other chapters, so it's less confusing this way.**

**Note, I have done research for this, so these OCs aren't completely original ^^; (based on actual folklore and other stuffs)**

**REQUESTS ACCEPTED**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Rise of the Guardians or the sources of my OCs (but I do own the OCs themselves)**

**...**

* * *

**Opposites**

* * *

...

There were only a few rare instances in his 300 years of solitude where Jack Frost had more than a one-sided conversation. And even those were just times when he had messed up something and the other spirits were having a go at him. But he would take what he could get.

Perhaps that was why he held the record on the Naughty List.

Through mainly accident, Jack had been made acquainted with the other seasonal spirits. The first one he'd met was May Queen; the spirit of spring. He'd been enjoying the last few days of winter when she'd shown up, melting snow and blooming flowers with a touch of her fingers. He'd been shocked to say the least when she'd turned to him and asked, a strange, almost disapproving glint in her eyes, why he was still hanging around. She had a sweet nature, but took her position as a spring spirit a little too seriously.

He had been following May's urgings to follow the weather when he discovered Ceres, the autumn spirit. She had not been happy when his frost had shrivelled the last of the golden leaves and covered the world in snow. She was not a fan of winter and, by extension, she hated him. She always put up such a fuss when he swept in and 'ruined all her hard work'. But, again, at least she spoke to him – well, yelled and complained, but close enough.

He often wondered about the summer spirit, never having personally met him. He had nagged May one day until she'd finally reached the point where she could no longer pretend he wasn't there and just told him what he wanted to know so he would go away. According to her, the summer spirit was called Lleu.

But, of course, being the embodiment of summer, actually getting the opportunity to meet him was highly unlikely. They were complete opposites and winter and summer were separated by spring and autumn. There was no way Ceres would take kindly to him passing through autumn in the middle of the season considering her hostility in what should have been a neutral time. And, while May was willing to put up with him between seasons, he didn't want to push her too far. So, for a long time, Jack never got to meet his opposite.

The weather was starting to warm up, the snow melting as the area got further and further into spring. May had yet to show up in Burgess, and Jack was fairly sure it was because she was avoiding the risk of running into him.

He had yet to move on with the rest of winter, opting to sit on the bank of his lake and watching as the ice slowly melted. He wasn't sure what stayed him – he really should have moved on by now. And yet, there he was.

A blast of hot air washed overhead, blowing his bangs out of his face.

"Hmm, white hair… frost covered stick… pasty complexion… you must be Jack Frost," an unfamiliar voice called from above.

"It's a staff," Jack corrected automatically, turning in time to watch a red-haired boy – a few years older than him in appearance – touch down a little ways away.

"Ooh, someone's touchy," the red-head smirked, straightening his wind-swept clothes.

"Who are you?" Jack asked in mild curiosity, although he thought he had a pretty good idea.

The newcomer raised a hand to his chest in mock offence. "What? You haven't heard of me?" Jack raised an eyebrow and the red-head rolled his eyes. "The name's Lleu; spirit of summer."

Jack felt a smile come to his face and he pushed himself to his feet. "What are you doing all the way out here? You know summer's not for another three months, right?"

"I could ask you the same thing. In fact, that's partly the reason I'm here," Lleu sighed and leaned his back against a nearby tree. "May's been whinging to me about a certain winter spirit who just won't seem to leave."

"So she sent you to get rid of me? Nice."

"Not really. Just let her think that. Honestly, I just wanted to get a glimpse of the infamous Jack Frost."

The remnants of snow that had been littering the branches and the ground around Lleu had all but melted by this point, and it seemed the heat he was radiating was starting to spread.

"Are you sure? It kinda looks like she just wanted you to do her job for her," Jack looked pointedly at the area around the summer spirit, leaning casually on his staff.

Lleu looked mildly surprised, glancing down at his feet. "Eh," he shrugged. "I'm the embodiment of summer. 'S bound to have some side effects against the cold. This is why I don't go where it's winter."

Now that he thought about it, Jack realised the air around them was starting to feel warmer, and he could feel perspiration starting to build on his forehead. _Weird_, he thought, raising a hand to wipe at it.

"What's the matter, Frost?" Lleu smirked. "Can't take the heat?"

Jack narrowed his eyes at the jibe. "You wish. What about you, not too cold are you?" But that was impossible. Anything of a low temperature thawed or melted after being near him for only a few moments.

Lleu waved his arms out in front of him. "Do I look cold?"

The wind began to pick up around Jack, swirling about him protectively, as if sensing his growing discomfort.

He could feel his shirt starting to soak up the ever increasing perspiration and almost moved to take off his cloak. But he didn't want to show any form of weakness to the summer spirit, especially since they were having a proper, two-sided conversation.

Lleu frowned. But it wasn't an 'ugh-I-can't-believe-I-have-to-put-up-with-you' frown that he usually received. No, this was more like he was _concerned_. But that was ridiculous.

"Look, not that this hasn't been fun," the red-head said with heavy sarcasm. "But I've got work to do, and so do you. You might want to head off before May shows up." Without waiting for a reply, the warmer wind lifted Lleu up off the ground and swept him away.

Leaving Jack to look up at the sky; alone once more.


	2. Of Elves and Staffs Part I

**Okay, to make up for the OC riddled first chapter, here's the start of an arc (yes, it's short, but I'm tired)**

**Disclaimer: IDOROTG**

**...**

* * *

**Of Elves and Staffs Part I**

* * *

...

"Didn't we have stay over 'ere so he _wouldn't_ be late for the meeting?" Bunny grumbled, glaring up at the clock as though it was the reason Jack was late. Again.

"Relax, Bunny," North replied. "There is still time."

As if on cue, the doors to the Globe Room burst open as Jack ran in, the frost appearing at his feet a testament to his emotions. He was quickly followed by a very angry looking Phil, although the winter spirit did not even seem aware of the fact as he went about tearing up the room, as if in a frenzied search for something.

North turned to the Easter Bunny and gestured with a raised eyebrow as if to say 'see?'. Bunny rolled his eyes and focused on Jack, who had yet to even acknowledge their presence in the room.

"Jack," North called to the boy. Jack gave no indication that he'd heard. "Jack!" he tried again, but with the same results.

Phil continued to chase the boy, making failed attempts to grab him until his foot slipped on a patch of ice and he fell flat on his back.

"Phil," North held out a hand to help the yeti to his feet. "What is going on?"

Phil replied in yetish, as all yetis do, but North seemed to understand.

"What do you mean he froze workshop?" The Russian glanced over to the spirit in question, who had jumped up onto the fireplace to look behind the tapestry, his frost having unconsciously put out the fire. And that wasn't easy to do. "Jack!" But again, he was ignored.

Sandy tugged on North's pants, gaining the large man's attention. He conjured a ball of dream sand in one hand and pointed to Jack, a question mark appearing above his head.

"No, Sandy," North put his hands on his hips. "We will try to work this out, ya?"

Tooth flew up in front of Jack and grabbed him by the shoulders, bringing him to a halt. "Sweet Tooth, what's wrong?"

Jack pulled himself from her grip and jumped down from the fireplace, continuing his search by the bookshelves. "I can't find it," he ground out in a mixture of panic and frustration.

"Find what?" she asked, hovering just above the ground beside Bunny.

"My staff."

"What, you mean that stick?" Bunny scoffed.

"_Staff_," Jack corrected, moving on to check around the Globe.

"Where did you last have it?" North asked, more sympathetic now that he understood the situation.

"It was with me last night when I went to sleep," Jack replied absently as he moved across the room again. "But when I woke up it was gone... replaced by a broom handle. I bet it was those damn elves," he added in an after-thought.

Bunny couldn't help himself, a few sniggers escaping him. If looks could kill, Bunny would have died from the glare Jack sent him.

North brought a hand to his chin and 'hmm'ed thoughtfully. "I will have yetis keep eye out."

...

* * *

...

In hindsight, it probably hadn't been Dingle's best idea. But it was a bit late for that now. They had wanted to get their hands on a snow globe so they could help North with present delivery. At least, that's how they justified their actions, conveniently not bringing up the fact that Christmas had passed and the next one was a good ten months away.

Unfortunately for them, the snow globes were stored in a cupboard way out of their reach. Again, there was probably a reason for that, but this was yet another thing conveniently overlooked. The elves had tried a number of things, but nothing had worked. The chairs around the place were far too low and every time they tried to stack themselves they would always fall over.

So they had all set off in search of something they could use to get the globes.

And then Dingle had walked into the guest room where Jack Frost was sleeping. Again, this wasn't a good idea considering the winter spirit's reputation for freezing elves, but this wasn't a good thinking day for Dingle.

And then his eyes had fallen on the staff. The staff that was the conduit for Jack's wintery magic. The staff that Jack never let out of his sight. The staff that was the perfect size and shape for getting snow globes down off a high shelf.

Dingle took the staff.

Of course, it wasn't quite as simple as that; the stick was clasped tightly in Jack's grasp like some kind of security blanket. He'd had to slowly extract the staff while a couple of other elves (which he had called in for the challenge) replaced it with a broom handle. Jack had been none the wiser.

All they had to do now was use it to get a snow globe.

Three elves held the staff at its base, navigating it until it successfully hooked onto the cupboard handle and swung the door open. The elves onlooking cheered as they moved on to stage two. The snow globes were lined up neatly in rows, making it easy to pick one and move to hook the staff behind it. A bunch of elves got into position under the cupboard, ready to catch the globe once it had been knocked down.

At least, they thought they were ready.

The snow globe was knocked forward, rolling slowly forwards and over the edge of the shelf. The elves below scrambled about as the globe plummeted towards them, each trying desperately to get to it before it could hit the floor. So focused were they on what was above, they didn't keep an eye on where each of them were. They collided with each other, toppling over. There was the sound of glass breaking as the snow globe smashed into the wooden floor.

The elves gaped, horrified, as a portal opened above the globe, and scrambled to hold onto something as the vacuum-like force tried to suck them in. Dingle's grip on Jack's staff slipped and he could only watch helplessly as the stick was pulled into the portal. There was a second's pause before the portal collapsed on itself and silenced reigned once more.

They were so dead.


	3. Just Him and the Wind Part I

**A.N: Naw, you guys are so lovely. Thank you all for the follows, favs, and reviews :3  
In other news, has officially earned my hatred – they've meddled with the Doc Manager, so my whole layout and the way I do things has to change.**

**I bet you guys thought I was going to post the second part of Of Elves and Staffs, huh? :P Actually, I haven't written it yet, so have a cliché chapter instead.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own ROTG**

**...**

* * *

**Just Him and the Wind Part I  
**

* * *

...

"We need vacation," North announced from his seat at the head of the table.

They were in the middle of a Guardian meeting and, after the usual rounds of Christmas-vs.-Easter arguing from North and Bunny, and banter between Jack and Bunny, North had gotten fed up and decided that some time off was in order.

"What about my tooth collection and Sandy's dream-delivery?" Tooth asked.

"We could just go for a day," Jack shrugged. Being the Guardian of Fun, he was always ready for a good time. What was better than a day off?

Sandy nodded his head in eager agreement and Tooth smiled at the compromise.

"Where did ya have in mind?" Bunny asked, looking up from the egg he had been painting.

North 'hmm'ed, tapping his chin in concentration. "What about snowboarding?"

Bunny looked horrified. "Nah, mate, too cold. Can't we do something warmer? What about the beach?"

Three sets of worried eyes turned to the winter spirit. But his reaction wasn't one they would have expected. Jack was sporting a wide smile. He loved the beach; well, he loved freezing the waves, anyway.

Sandy created an image of the sun above his head, followed by a question mark.

"As long as there's shade and it's not too hot, there's no problem," Jack replied to the silent query.

"It's decided then," North boomed jollily. "Next weekend we go to beach!"

The beach they had chosen was secluded and currently experiencing the start of spring. Palm trees and plant life lined the edge of the sand, providing plenty of shady places for them to set up – laying down beach towels and a picnic lunch among other things. For once, no one seemed to have anything to complain about.

"Do you think the water will be cold?" Tooth cast a worrying glance at the ocean lapping lazily up against the sand.

"Prob'ly," Bunny replied, rolling his shoulder. "It's only been spring here for a couple o' weeks."

"Don't let that stop you, Toothy!" North exclaimed, running for the water in his ridiculous red and white striped swimsuit.

The four remaining on the sand watched wide-eyed as the Cossack plunged into the ocean, not stopping even when a gasp escaped him as the icy water touched his skin. With a laugh, Tooth and Bunny chased after him.

Sandy, who couldn't enter the water without falling apart, turned to Jack, a series of symbols appearing above his head.

"Uh, no thanks," Jack said, suppressing a shudder. "I think I'll stay out here with you." As silly as it sounded, the thought that he might be expected to swim hadn't even crossed his mind. It wasn't that he couldn't swim – he could – but even before he'd gotten his memories back, he'd had this inexplicable fear of water. The memories had only provided an explanation; and served to increase his phobia.

It sounded silly even in his own mind, being the spirit of winter – commander of ice and snow – and being scared of the liquid form. And so far, he'd been okay. He'd been alone. There was no one there to push or tease him.

Until now.

"Oi, Frostbite!" Bunny called, wading chest-deep in the cold water. "You comin' in?!"

"Nah, I'd probably just freeze it," Jack replied, fishing for excuses.

"Is already frozen!" North so helpfully supplied.

Jack groaned quietly. "No, really, I'm good. Sandy and I will just sit out here." To make his point, he plopped down beside the Sandman, helping him dig a moat around the castle the small man was building. He looked up as a shadow fell over the pair of them to see Bunnymund standing over them with his arms crossed.

"What?" Jack asked with more bite in his tone than he'd intended.

"C'mon, Frostbite, what's the problem?"

"What problem? There is no problem."

"Then why aren't you comin' in with us?"

Jack resisted the urge to bang his head against a tree. "Uh… someone should stay here with Sandy so he's not by himself."

Sandy looked up at the mention of his name and smiled, waving his hand in an 'it's okay, you go' gesture.

_Gee, thanks, Sandy_, Jack thought spitefully.

"Hang on," Bunny smirked. "You're not _scared_ are you?"

It was said in jest, but Jack was rooted in shock in how quickly he had hit the proverbial nail on the head. "What?! _No!_"

"Then there's no problem if I do this."

Without warning, Bunny reached out and grabbed the winter spirit, hauling him over his shoulder. Jack cried out, his staff slipping through his fingers and landing with a soft plunk in the sand.

"Ah! Hey!" Jack gasped, struggling to free himself as he was carried towards the water's edge, his fear intensifying with every step. "No! Bunny! No, no, no, no, _no_!"

But Bunny ignored him.

"Bunny, maybe you shouldn't…" Tooth bit her lip, swimming a little closer to them as if to interfere.

It wasn't until the water had reached halfway up the Pooka's chest that Jack was released – and not in a way he would have liked. Two strong, furry paws grabbed the winter spirit around the midsection and, paying no attention to Jack's ever increasing panic, threw him unceremoniously into the water.

The second his body came into contact with the water, Jack's world became a mix of past and present. Even as he desperately tried to swim to the surface, the fear and memory of the crushing cold and water filling lungs continued to push him down; down, further into the darkening depths. In a matter of moments the boundary between what had passed and what was now was wiped away – a weird hybrid of the two taking its place.

The absolute terror that filled him seized his limbs and he found himself sinking further into the water. He opened his mouth to cry out but all that escaped him was a stream of bubbles. Water began to fill his lungs and darkness crept onto the edges of his vision. In such a state was he that he didn't even notice his powers stretching out around him, beginning to freeze the water that was causing him such distress.

Paws, the same paws that had caused all this, grabbed Jack by the hood of his jumper and pulled him up and out of the water.

Someone was talking to him but to Jack it was just droning in the background. Gasping for breath, he clung onto the body holding him up, wrapping his shaking arms around the Pooka's neck and burying his face into the furry shoulder – too shaken to be embarrassed. His whole body was racked with shivers. And it wasn't because he was cold.

"-stbite?"

That had been far too close for comfort. Pitch was probably having a field day.

"Jack!"

Bunny's voice finally broke through to him and Jack, not bothering to look up, mumbled, "I'm fine."

"No, you're clearly not, mate." The words were spoken softly, and Bunny didn't even try to pry the terrified winter spirit off him. Wrapping supportive arms around his charge, Bunny began the trek back to shore.

Sandy had hurried forward and he, alongside North and Tooth, watched in concern as the Easter Bunny placed Jack gently onto the sand. As soon as his contact with Bunny was removed, Jack curled up on his side, his face buried into his knees.

"Sweet Tooth?" Tooth called softly, kneeling down beside the unnaturally pale boy – even for him.

"Mm?"

"Why didn't you say you couldn't swim?!" Bunny asked, the reality of the situation sinking in and harshening his tone.

Jack tilted his head just enough to glance up at him. "I _can_ swim."

"Then what the bloody hell was that?!"

"Bunny!" Tooth reprimanded.

"What? He was all excited about coming here back at the pole!" Bunny snapped. "So what happened, Frostbite?"

Jack didn't answer, shutting his eyes and turning away. A jumble of undecipherable words was all the response they got.

"What?" Bunny frowned.

Jack gave a frustrated growl, quickly getting to his feet and hurrying over to where his staff was still lying. "I said I was scared, okay?!" The wind picked up as soon as Jack's hand came into contact with the wood, as if trying to comfort the Guardian of Fun. "I… Drowning was how I died."

When the silence that followed grew to be too uncomfortable to put up with any longer, Jack turned around slowly to face his fellow Guardians. They were all staring at him, openly gaping. With growing horror, it dawned on Jack that he was even less like them than he thought.

They had never died.

Jack staggered backwards as if he'd been struck, his staff clutched to his chest in a white-knuckled grip. The others seemed to snap out of their stupor, holding their hands out towards him, but, right then, all Jack could think of was the need to get away. To be alone. Like he'd always been. Like he always would be. Even when he'd thought he was starting to belong, that he was part of a family… he was always alone.

A strong gust of wind wrapped around him, enveloping him in its icy tendrils, and he allowed it to lift him up, high into the air.

That was how it should be; how it had always been. Just him and the wind.


	4. Of Elves and Staffs Part II

**Aaaand here is part 2 of 'Of Elves and Staffs'. Thank you so much to those of you who followed/faved/reviewed. It means a lot to me. **

**Requests accepted**

**Disclaimer: IDOROTG**

**...**

* * *

**Of Elves and Staffs Part II**

* * *

...

The elves were avoiding him. Jack knew it. On a regular day, he would have run into dozens of them by now, but so far he hadn't even heard the jingle of their pointed hats. That was suspicious enough to make him believe they were responsible for the disappearance of his staff.

They'd better hope they hadn't done something to it.

It was Sandy who found the first clue – a smashed snow globe and an open door to the cupboard they were stored in. Of course, there were no elves in sight.

"This can't be good," Jack muttered, glaring at the broken globe as if it had personally hidden the elves and his staff from him.

And so the search continued. It was hours before Phil burst into the Globe Room, a panicked looking elf struggling in his grip.

"Ah, you found elf!" North proclaimed. The other Guardians hurried over, with Jack stepping to the front.

"Where's my staff?" he asked in a deceptively calm tone.

The elf's eyes widened as it caught sight of him, increasing its struggles.

"Wrong answer." Jack reached up and lightly touched one of the elf's legs, instantly coating the appendage in frost. "Next time it'll be the rest of you."

The elf stopped struggling, seeming to sigh as it hung its head. With a weak flap of its arm, it gestured out into the hallway. Following the elf, Tinsel's, guidance, the Guardians and Phil found themselves looking down once more on the remainders of the snow globe.

"Oh dear," Tooth murmured.

"Is there any way of knowing where the portal opened up?" Jack asked.

"Is broken, so likely accident," North hesitantly replied, Tinsel nodding frantically in agreement in the background. "So… no."

Jack groaned, banging his head against the wall. Abruptly, he turned, freezing Tinsel solid on his way out of the room.

"Where are you going?" Bunny asked, as he and the others hurried after the winter spirit.

"Well, I'm not going to find it standing around here," Jack called back, not bothering to stop or turn around. "So I'm going to go and ask around – maybe someone's seen it."

"And how do you plan to get around without the wind, mate?"

Jack stopped dead in his tracks. With another groan, he turned to the wall and repeated his earlier action. Tooth quickly flew up to him and grabbed his head.

"I'll send as many fairies as I can spare to go and look," she offered.

"Right," North added. "I will take sleigh and cover big open areas like deserts."

Sandy nodded, creating a symbol of big cities above his head before taking off in a dream-sand plane.

Bunny sighed, realizing he'd been left with the anxious winter spirit. "Ah, well, we'd better get cracking." With two thumps of his foot, a tunnel opened up and he jumped down.

"If anybody finds staff, come back here and send out the lights," North instructed.

"If those elves sent my staff into the ocean…" Jack left the sentence hanging as he jumped down the tunnel after Bunny.

...

* * *

...

Predictably, the tunnel opened up by the lake in Burgess. Jack took one look at the golden leaves of the surrounding trees and made to jump back into the tunnel. But it had already closed up.

"I thought this'd be as good a place as any to start," Bunny explained, apparently not having noticed Jack's discomfort. "How'd I get roped into this?" he sighed.

"You know, I didn't ask you to help," Jack grumbled. He would've gone off on his own if the wind would still carry him without his staff. While he'd learned that the staff was merely a conduit, he didn't seem able to fly without it. Plus, it had sentimental value. All the more reason to get it back.

"Forget it," Bunny shook his head, sniffing the air. "This is probably gonna take a while, so we'd better get started."

They searched the woods of Burgess for hours without any luck. Bunny had been unable to ascertain a scent – probably because of all the trees around that were made from the same type of wood. Jack had been exceedingly nervous, too; constantly looking over his shoulder or up into the sky. Normally he would stay far away from autumn once it was in full-swing. He and Ceres were not on the best of terms… especially after that incident on Halloween over a century ago. But as time passed without any signs of the autumn spirit, Jack started to relax until he forgot about her completely, focusing on finding his lost staff.

It was then, of course, that she decided to show up.

At first it didn't seem like she'd noticed them, and Jack was quick to hide behind Bunny – much to the Guardian of Hope's protest.

"What are you doin', Frostbite?" he frowned, crossing his arms.

"Shh!" Jack gestured frantically, peering past Bunny to Ceres, who was scattering leaves around with the wind.

Bunny followed his line of sight, his frown deepening. "It's just Ceres. What's the problem?"

Bunny had not heeded his advice of being quiet, and so Ceres, at the mention of her name, turned. Her placid expression quickly turned to anger and disbelief as her eyes landed on Jack. "_You!_" she raged, and Jack winced. "Jack Frost! You have some nerve coming here in the middle of autumn!"

Now Bunny just looked confused. Jack stepped out from behind the Pooka – no sense hiding anymore. And he had never been one to just take without giving. "You do realize this is my home, right?"

"Not in autumn, it's not," she glared. "And since when have you two been on such good terms?" she asked, gesturing to Bunny. "I mean, I heard you became a Guardian – _Mother_ knows how that happened – but I didn't expect anything else to change."

"Now wait just a second," Bunny interrupted, taking a step forward. Jack was quick to cut him off, holding out a hand to placate the overgrown rabbit.

"Look, I'm only here to look for something. We'll stay out of your way and be gone before you know it."

Ceres narrowed her eyes. "Fine. But you'd better be gone by the time I get back, _Frostbite_." Without another word, a wind of dancing leaves picked up and carried the plump spirit away.

Jack released a breath he hadn't realized he was holding.

"What the bloody hell was that?" Bunny asked.

"Ah, it's better just to give her what she wants… she can get really scary when she's mad," Jack shrugged.

"I take it you know this from experience." It was clear from his tone that Bunny did not approve.

Jack grinned sheepishly. "We'd better get back to searching. I _really_ don't want to be here when she gets back."

* * *

**Guest review responses:**

**Guest: Thank you! There will be another part to that one ;)**


	5. Halloween

**Heya my lovelies :3 **

**I think I use Ceres as a character a little too much... but she's so fun to pick on :3**

**...**

* * *

**Halloween**

* * *

...

Jack reclined back against the trunk of the tree he was sitting in. It was sometime in late October and normally he would have been hanging out in Antarctica waiting for winter, but something had drawn him away from the place of endless cold and up north, where autumn continued to reign. He had opted for a secluded area in the countryside – a place where Ceres was unlikely to go so there was little to no risk of being caught by her.

It was a beautiful night; the cloudless sky showing off countless stars and the moon shining down on him. In all rights, he should have been happy.

"Why doesn't anybody ever see me?" he asked, tilting his head to stare forlornly at the moon. He spoke to the Man in the Moon often, always with the same questions. But MiM never spoke back. And he was always left feeling disappointed and lost. And then he would try again another night and the cycle would continue.

"Why am I even here? For what purpose did you put me here?"

And like always, the only reply was the silence of night.

Jack sighed, rolling his head to the side. "Why don't you ever talk to me?"

"Probably because I've never met you."

Jack jumped as the sudden voice cut through the silence like a knife. He searched frantically for the source of the voice but there was no one in sight. "Hello?"

"Hello!"

Jack looked up so fast his neck cracked. Lying casually on a branch above him was a young man with jet black hair that looked like he'd just gotten out of bed. He was dressed completely in black, save for the bright orange pumpkin on his head that had a spooky face carved into it. His eyes glowed yellow to match the lantern that was his headgear.

Jack caught his breath, placing a hand over his heart to calm himself.

"Did I scare you?" the stranger asked with a Cheshire grin.

"Yes!" Jack cried indignantly – there was no point in denying it.

"Good." The stranger swung down, landing nimbly in front of him. "So, who are you?" he asked, his voice lilting like he was asking about a secret crush.

"Jack," he introduced. "Jack Frost."

"Ooh! I've heard of you! Troublemaker, right?"

Jack frowned but didn't try to justify himself.

"I'm Jack-O-Lantern," the creepy guy said smugly. "Also known as the Pumpkin King, or the spirit of Halloween. Nice name, by the way."

"You too," Jack replied with a bewildered smile.

"Why don't you come join us for Halloween?"

Jack almost did a double-take. "What? You want _me_ to go to _your_ party?"

"Sure, why not? It's not like you've got anything better to do, right? Unless of course you'd planned on sitting here talking to MiM all night," he added with a smirk.

Jack huffed, getting to his feet. "It's your funeral," he said by way of warning.

"Yeah, kinda."

...

* * *

...

Jack-O-Lantern had led him a little ways across the countryside to a large, overgrown pumpkin patch in the yard of a church that had started to mingle with the graveyard. It would have all been a bit overwhelming had it not been for the countless lit turnips, gourds and pumpkins – all of which had faces carved out of them – and the vast number of spirits milling about.

Some were quite obviously dressed up for the occasion, while others appeared to look the way they did naturally. Jack was almost positive he'd spotted Death himself lurking around the punch bowl. There were ghouls that seemed to be lesser spirits serving under Jack-O, who all stopped to cheer as their master arrived. Even Pitch Black was present.

The whole place was just the kind of thing Jack had expected to find at a Halloween party, although he was fairly sure the skeleton decorations were real. He made a point of avoiding those.

"So Jack," Jack-O said, placing a casual arm over the winter spirit's shoulders. "Why not lend us a hand with a bit of frost?"

Jack raised an eyebrow in confusion and followed the Pumpkin King's gaze over to where Ceres was talking animatedly with one of the Pixies that was responsible for the Will-O'-the-Wisp.

"What did you have in mind?"

Jack knew he was probably going to regret this. Ceres already hated him enough as it was. Nevertheless, the prankster part of him couldn't care less. And so they set the plan into motion.

"How do you keep that flame alight without burning your hair?" Jack asked, gesturing to the Halloween spirit's headgear while they waited for their target to move into position.

Jack-O reached up and pulled the carved lantern off his head. Reaching inside, he pulled out a small flame that danced on the tips of his fingers without seeming to do any harm. "It's Hell fire," he explained and Jack automatically took a step back. Jack-O snickered but continued his explanation. "Before I became like this," he gestured weakly towards himself. "I tricked the Devil into not taking my soul. In the end, when I died, I was left with nowhere left to go. The Devil gave me this flame to light the way."

"Wait, so you're…"

"Yup, cursed to forever wander the Earth as a soul rejected by both Heaven and Hell," he finished dramatically.

"How come I've never seen you around before?"

Jack-O returned the flame to his pumpkin and placed it back on his head. "I only come out on Halloween." He glanced down at the gourds lighting the area, their glow starting to fade. "Only a few minutes 'til Samhain. It's time to have some fun."

...

* * *

...

Ceres was unsuspecting as she walked over to the table containing the party snacks. Jack waited until she was in just the right position before directing the wind to blow around her gently. The autumn spirit frowned, not having called upon her own wind and not knowing Jack was just across the clearing, hiding behind a particularly large pumpkin with her host.

The wind did its job well, blowing out the flickering lights in the lanterns around her.

Ready to turn it up a notch, Jack focused on the patch of frost by the plump woman's feet. The frosted image of a hand slowly pulled up from the grass, gaining a more corporeal form. The hand reached up like a being of the dead climbing from its grave and latched on tightly to Ceres's ankle.

The autumn spirit screamed, knocking the table over in her panic and desperately kicking her leg out in an attempt to free herself. The hand dissipated in a puff of snowflakes as both Jacks rose from their hiding place, bursting with laughter.

"Well what did you expect, coming to a Halloween party?" Jack-O grinned at her, but Ceres only had eyes for Jack Frost.

"_You_," she ground out in nothing short of righteous fury.

"Uh-oh," Jack's smile slipped as the wind swept him up into the air.

"See you next year, Frosty?" Jack-O called up to him, still trying to catch his breath as he watched the winter spirit get chased by Ceres.

* * *

**Guest Review Responses:**

**SaiyanPrincess: Really? I was a litte worried about that, to tell the truth, so I'm glad you enjoyed it! You'll find out soon ;) Thank you so much for taking the time to read and review ^w^**


	6. Just Him and the Wind Part II

**It's been a little while, huh? I'm not entirely happy with this chapter, but meh, I figured you guys were getting tired of waiting anyway. **

**Disclaimer: IDOROTG**

**...**

* * *

**Just Him and the Wind Part II**

* * *

...  
"Мои дети!" North was the first to break the silence with his Russian curse.

None of them had been expecting that. They were all still staring at the open patch of sand the winter spirit had occupied not moments before, as if expecting him to suddenly reappear before them.

"Did you know?" North asked, turning to Tooth; she was the guardian of memories, after all.

"No," she replied, her voice no more than a whisper. "We protect the memories, but we never pry into them; it's not our place to intrude on something so personal."

"We should go get 'im," Bunny declared, recovering from the shock of it all. "He's been alone long enough."

...

* * *

...

In the end, after much dispute, they had taken the sleigh. There was no arguing on where to look, however; there was one place Jack was sure to come back to time and again. Although, considering what he'd revealed to them, Bunny couldn't help but wonder why.

As they had predicted, they found Jack sitting on his staff (Bunny could never get over how easily the boy balanced on that stick) in the centre of the frozen lake, his hood drawn up over his head. Looking around, the clearing showed signs of spring everywhere. It was fair to assume, then, that the frozen water was Jack's doing.

They approached cautiously – there was every chance they could spook the kid off – but their efforts were wasted, as Jack didn't even seem to notice they were there.

"We should not scare him," North whispered, glancing up at the solitary figure. "Sandy, send out dream sand to get his attention."

Sandy nodded, gathering his sand into his hands and moulding it into a stream which lazily made its way across the frozen surface, circling around Jack.

Jack looked up at the delicate trail with wide eyes, but his expression softened when dolphins jumped up and danced around him. Slowly, he turned towards the bank and lowered his hood.

"Hey, Sweet Tooth," Tooth called softly. She hesitated on the edge for a minute before flying over to him.

Jack effortlessly slid down from his staff, landing silently on the solid surface of the lake. "Hey."

"We're sorry. We were just worried about you… you never told us, so we didn't even think about the possibility…"

"It's okay," Jack cut her off. "It wasn't your fault."

"No," Bunny stepped out to meet them. "I shouldn't have forced you like that. You were excited about the idea back at the pole, so I didn't see any harm in it. I'm sorry."

"Jack," North and Sandy were the last to join the group. "We did not die when we became Guardians. But that is minor detail; you are still a Guardian, and you are still a part of our family. Look at us," he waved a hand around in gesture. "We are all very different – but that doesn't mean we do not belong. Could you imagine if there was more than one Bunny?"

"Hey!"

Jack looked away, a small smile on his face. North took that as a win and slapped a friendly hand on the winter spirit's back, nearly sending him stumbling.

"We won't make you do anything you don't want to," Bunny added, apparently having recovered from North's slight. "But if you ever need help with anything, or if you want to overcome your fear, then we're here for you."

"Thanks, you guys," Jack met their gazes – his family.

Yes, he had been alone. Yes, he was now rather good at it. But, like the wind and the seasons, times change. He wasn't alone anymore. It wasn't just him and the wind, it was him, the wind and his family. And, judging from the way the wind blew gently around them, scattering petals and frost, he felt it safe to assume that it, like him, wouldn't have it any other way.

"I think this holiday was a bust," Tooth said lightly.

"Come, we go back to pole for hot chocolate," he glanced at Jack, "Or cold chocolate, in your case, and cookies. Then we can decide on better idea for next holiday." With an arm around the winter spirit's shoulders, North and the other Guardians began leading him back to where they had left the sleigh.

"I, uh, think I'll meet you there," Bunny announced, looking warily at the sleigh.

"What's wrong, Kangaroo?" Jack smirked. "You _scared_?"

* * *

**Guest Review Responses:**

**SaiyanPrincess: Thank you so much. You're so lovely :3 Have a virtual cookie (the edible kind, not the one that tracks your computer history stuff)**


	7. Blizzard of '68

**Hey guys. I'm really sorry about this. I was fully intending to upload the final part of Of Staffs and Elves, but I've been so swamped with work that I haven't had the chance to finish it. It's been a while and I don't want to keep you hanging. So, unfortunately, you get this pre-written chapter instead. Forgive me?**

**Disclaimer: Do not own ROTG**

**...**

* * *

**Blizzard of '68**

* * *

...

Lleu was really starting to regret having sought out Jack Frost that day all those years ago. At first he'd seen no harm in it – yeah he was summer and Frost was winter, but so what? But then he'd actually found the kid and in only a matter of minutes it had been clear that his actions had been a mistake. Frost was practically melting after only being in his presence for a short time. It was a shame; Lleu thought he would have really liked the kid. But fate was cruel like that.

So he'd left, thinking that would be the end of it. He'd been wrong.

The second meeting of the two seasons that should never have mingled occurred the following year; an accident this time. Neither of them had been watching where they'd been flying and crashed into each other. Lleu had made one passing comment about Jack watching where he was going, else he hurt himself. He hadn't thought much of it at the time, but from the look on Frost's face, it had meant a lot to him. Lleu wasn't ignorant – he knew the rumours about Jack Frost. How he was hated and ignored. How he was always alone. And, like their last encounter, Jack had started to show signs of fatigue and weakness after only a few short moments. He'd come up with an excuse to leave, trying hard to ignore the disappointment on the winter spirit's face.

Lleu had tried to avoid Jack Frost – much like the other spirits did. He knew summer and winter were not supposed to mix, regardless of how emotionally painful it was. Jack would feel hated and alone, and Lleu felt guilty for being the cause of that.

But then Jack had sought him out.

Lleu had found him flying through spring (looking very much like he was trying to avoid May), his forehead slick with perspiration. It was the middle of the season; the idiot should have been waiting it out at one of the poles! If this kept up, the kid was going to end up killing himself. Or, at least, make himself very, _very_ sick.

And as much as it pained him, Lleu knew what he had to do. It was for Jack's benefit, he kept reminding himself. But that didn't make it any easier.

"Look, Frost," he snapped, trying to sound as hostile as possible whilst silently begging the winter spirit to see through his façade. "I don't know what you thought was going on, but we're _not friends_." _Please, please don't believe me!_ "You shouldn't even be here! It's spring, for crying out loud. You don't belong here. So why don't you run along to Antarctica like you're supposed to?!"

Lleu would never forgive himself for the hurt and disappointment that crossed Jack's face. It was like he'd kicked a puppy or something. But just as quickly as it had come, the look was gone, covered by a hard, closed-off glare. _Good_, the summer spirit told himself. _Now he won't come back. It's for his own good._

"Sorry to have bothered you," was the curt reply. Without another word, Jack took off, quickly disappearing behind the cloud cover.

...

* * *

...

_How could I have been so stupid?!_

Jack fought back the tears that were stinging his eyes. He would not let them show. He would not let Lleu see that he'd gotten to him. He should never have assumed that the summer spirit hadn't hated him like the others. After all, he was Jack Frost – irresponsible, a nuisance, unneeded.

As he flew, the emotion inside him began to boil; all the anguish and disappointment simmering down into rage. Rage at Lleu, but mostly anger at himself.

He should have known better.

And, with the anger, came power. He could feel his winter magic building up, banging against his walls, desperate for release. With a white-knuckled grip on his staff, Jack curled in on himself, his emotions and power all coming up in the form of a heart-wrenching cry. The ice billowed around him, swirling and building as the wind caught it and tumbled it around, as if sharing in his pain. In a matter of seconds, what had simply been a release of pent up emotion had become a full-blown blizzard.

Jack watched in panic as the natural force he had created spread, covering the land below with wild snow fall. And he was powerless to stop it. Through the flurry of white, he thought he saw the silhouette of the Easter Bunny looking up at him.

Oh.

It was Easter Sunday.

Jack forced himself to look away. "Wind," he whispered. "Take me home."

* * *

**Guest Review Responses:**

**SaiyanPrincess: =^w^= I love you (platonic). You always make me feel all mushy and loved :3 I'm really glad you like it. I wanted to end on a lighter note, so I'm glad you thought it was okay. Thank you so much, as always n.n**


	8. Of Elves and Staffs Part III

**Naw, you guys are all so lovely. I have the warm fuzzies :3**

**(SPOILER warning - although you find out in like the second paragraph) I'm not entirely happy with Pitch's motivation in this one (and wow this one's a bit long, huh?), but meh.**

**Also, I forgot to mention this in the last chapter (Blizzard), so I'll just stick it here: In my headcannon, I see the blizzard of '68 being a way Jack tried to get attention - specifically from Bunny - but I somehow got that instead :P**

**Disclaimer: IDOROTG... Onwards!**

* * *

**Of Elves and Staffs Part III**

* * *

...  
Pitch Black chuckled to himself as he walked slowly away from the decrepit building. Honestly, if they didn't want to be scared, why did kids even bother with 'tests of courage'? Not that he particularly minded; he enjoyed it.

Without warning, a large portal appeared before him. Pitch took a large step back, his whole body anticipating fight or flight, but instead of a large oaf in a reindeer-pulled sleigh, all that appeared was a dull brown stick, which clattered loudly as it fell to his feet.

"Well, well, well," Pitch smirked, stooping to pick up the staff. "What have we here?"

He ran the staff over in his hands, noting that there was no evidence of its earlier breakage. How had he done it? Wasn't the staff the source of his powers? Then why had he been able to repair it, to come back, to play a significant role in his downfall?

Pitch knew he now had leverage over Jack Frost… but how to use it…

Pitch stepped back, allowing the shadows to consume him. In a matter of seconds, he had reappeared behind one of the Guardians; but not the one he was searching for.

Suppressing a sigh, he called, "Tell me, Toothianna, where's Jack?"

The Tooth Fairy spun around so fast, for a moment Pitch thought her neck might just snap. No such luck. The small fairy by her side quickly moved behind her.

"Pitch!" Tooth practically snarled. "What are you doing here?!"

"Well, I was hoping you would answer my question," he replied, rolling his eyes and waving the staff in front of him for emphasis.

Tooth's eyes widened at the sight of the stick, her gaze flickering constantly between it and the Boogieman. "Where did you get that?"

"Oh this?" Pitch looked down at his new prop with mild interest, as if he hadn't noticed he had it. "It was the funniest thing; it just landed in front of me. I don't suppose you'd believe me if I said I only wanted to give it back…"

If the glare was anything to go by, no she didn't. "Well then," she said, her tone obviously forced, "Give it to me and I'll make sure Jack gets it." Tooth held out her hand.

"Oh no, no, no," Pitch tutted. "I'd really rather give it to him in person. Where can I find him?"

"I don't know. And even if I did I wouldn't tell you."

"Shame," Pitch smirked, disappearing once more into the shadows.

...

* * *

...

Jack staggered back as something green zipped about in his face.

"Whoa, whoa!" he gasped, putting up his hands in a placating manner.

The green blur slowed, revealing itself to be Baby Tooth, who was squeaking and gesturing frantically.

"Baby Tooth? What are you doing here?" Jack frowned, unable to understand what the anxious fairy was trying to tell him. "Slow down! I can't–" he cut himself off as he caught sight of the rainbow coloured lights stretching across the sky.

"Looks like Tooth's found it," Bunny said, hopping over.

Jack couldn't bring himself to smile. Why was Baby Tooth so flustered? "…Something's wrong."

"Ah, here you are."

Jack could have recognised that velvety tone anywhere, and so he wasn't surprised when he turned to see Pitch Black leaning casually against a tree. Nor was he all that shocked to see his staff resting on the Boogieman's shoulder. Suddenly Baby Tooth was starting to make a lot of sense. If history was any indicator, this was _not_ going to end well.

"Pitch!" Bunny growled.

"Is this how you greet everyone who comes to see you?"

"What do you want?" Jack asked, his tone dangerously calm.

Pitch turned to him with a strange glint in his eyes. "I see you still remember our last little _heart-to-heart_," he spat like it was poison on his lips.

"I learned a lot that day; I guess I should thank you."

Pitch narrowed his eyes. It was clear that was not the response he had been looking for.

"I'm only going to ask one more time: what do you want?"

"I thought that was clear?"

"How is stealing Jack's staff going to make children believe in you?" North's voice announced his arrival before the sleigh touched down on the forest floor. Sandy and Tooth climbed out alongside him.

"It's not the _staff_ that's going to do it…" Pitch swung the staff lazily. "Do you remember, Jack? When I said 'what goes together better than cold and dark'?"

Jack lunged, a cry of rage escaping him. Pitch used the shadows, teleporting to another spot on the other side of the clearing.

"Ah, I see you do remember…" He held the staff out towards the winter spirit. "So what do you say? I'll give this back, if you do a little job for me."

"My answer hasn't changed! You can do whatever you want, but you have no power over me!" It didn't escape the Boogieman's notice how Frost's eyes flickered quickly over to his fellow Guardians and Baby Tooth, all of which, par the tiny fairy, were watching in confusion.

"Is that so?" Pitch's lip twitched. "Well in that case, you won't mind if I do this." On the last note, he held the staff in both hands and cracked it down over his knee.

The snap reverberated around the clearing, but was quickly drowned out by the short cry of pain that escaped Jack Frost.

Much like the first time, it was like the Boogieman had snapped away part of his soul, tearing it cruelly from its place, leaving a metaphorical hole in his chest.

Pitch was smirking again, one of the halves held firmly in his hands. "Or this…" the half was snapped again, and this time Jack was not able to remain standing.

Falling to his knees, Jack gripped the fabric of his jumper directly over his heart, the pain distorting the cries of his companions. He looked up at the shadow man, who was easily dodging the attacks launched at him.

"One little word, Jack," he taunted. "Just one little word and I'll give it back."

"…No," Jack gasped out.

Pitch's calm melted into anger. "Fine!" The remaining half was broken, and with it went another part of the winter spirit's heart.

_Why does it hurt this much?!_ Jack placed a hand down onto the soft grass to steady himself. _It's only a conduit! …It's only… a conduit…_ Jack's eyes widened, his expression quickly morphing into steely determination. With great effort, he pulled himself up onto his unsteady feet.

"You have… no power over me!" The ground around his feet was starting to frost over, icy tendrils creeping out towards the source of their creator's animosity.

Almost comically, surprise overrode the smug look on Pitch's face, but only momentarily, as black sand swam up, forming into two nightmares.

_"What goes together better than cold and dark?"_

Jack remembered exactly what had happened when cold and dark came together. And it didn't work out so well for dark.

He knew he was nowhere near as powerful without his staff – he didn't have a conduit for nothing – but that didn't make him powerless. All he had to do was get close enough… or let them get close to him.

Jack hobbled forwards. Pitch was grinning like he'd already won, and pointed to the winter spirit. Without the need for words, one of the nightmares charged. But this was what Jack had been counting on.

"Jack!" he heard his friends cry out in warning and silently willed them not to interfere. No such luck. In the corner of his eye he could see the others running towards him.

"Sorry," he managed, before sending ice cascading across the grass. Unable to gain a grip on the slippery surface, Bunny and North tumbled, taking Sandy and Tooth down with them. He was going to be in so much trouble later.

At the last moment, with Pitch laughing victoriously in the background, Jack held up both his hands. The nightmare collided with him, and for a terse second, Jack wondered if he hadn't made a mistake. But then he could feel the cold flurry of his powers seeping, spreading across the black sand. The nightmare was frozen solid in seconds.

Pitch gave a cry of rage, and Jack turned his attention to the shadow man. Another nightmare rose to take the place of its fallen brethren and both it and the remaining one broke out into a sprint towards him.

Jack crouched down, placing his hands flat onto the grass, using the earth like he would his staff and creating a line of pointed icicles. Unable to stop in time, the two nightmares impaled themselves, disintegrating into piles of dust.

Now only Pitch remained.

This was going to be harder than the nightmares. The other Guardians were starting to pick themselves up, all fiercely determined to stop Pitch.

Pitch raised his hands as if to conjure more of his black sand creations but suddenly froze, his face telling tale to the utter shock he was experiencing. There was a loud rumble as two thick vines broke out of the ground and wound their way up his legs and torso.

"What?" seemed to be the overall thought echoing around the clearing.

"What in the name of Manny is going on here?!" an uncomfortably familiar – and angry – voice called. All present turned to the source in time to see a plump woman dressed in various shades of orange and brown come in to land on the edge of the clearing.

"You," she spat, pointing at Jack. "I thought I told you to be gone by the time I got back. Why are you still here?"

"…Uh…" Perhaps he could use this to his advantage. "Him!" he gestured almost manically to Pitch. "It was his fault. He picked a fight with us."

Ceres raised a brow, glancing briefly at the other Guardians before turning her attention to Pitch. "Is that so?"

Pitch visibly gulped.

"Tell me, Pitch Black, why did you think it was okay to pick a fight with _him_," she waved in the winter spirit's direction, "knowing full well that his blasted ice would freeze up my season?"

Pitch said nothing. Which was probably the best thing he could have done.

"Leave. And if I _ever_ see you messing around with autumn again, you'll regret it."

Pitch took her word for it, retreating into the shadows the moment the autumn spirit released him from the vines.

"As for you…"

Jack resisted the urge to swear colourfully.

"You are on thin ice, boy. Now get lost before I change my mind."

Jack nodded mutely, hurrying (which in this case means hobbling at a rushed pace) to gather up the remains of his staff and clambering up into the sleigh. A rather dazed looking group of Guardians, who had sense enough not to comment on the last few minutes while in the presence of the intimidating woman, followed him.

...

* * *

...

Jack sighed, holding up two pieces of his staff and testing them to see if they were supposed to join together.

"Sorry about your staff, Jack," Tooth said forlornly watching curiously as Baby Tooth shook her head at the two pieces Jack was holding.

"Don't worry about it," Jack shrugged, putting down one of the pieces and picking up another one.

"Maybe we can fix?" North suggested, not taking his eyes off the sky ahead.

"Doubt it would work the same," Bunny said, sharing a look with Sandy.

"No, it's okay," Jack shook his head. There was an uncomfortable silence for a moment. "Aha!"

All occupants of the sleigh jumped at the sudden exclamation.

"What?" North asked.

Jack didn't answer, simply furrowing his brow as he stared in complete concentration at his broken staff. Blue-white light erupted from the break, glowing to near blinding before dying down to reveal a single, undamaged stick. Jack smiled in satisfaction, moving on to the next piece, which Baby Tooth helpfully picked out for him.

"Wha… How?" Bunny gaped.

Jack spared the Pooka a second's glance before focusing on the task at hand once more. "It's not the first time I've had to do this," he said by way of explanation.

"What does that mean?" Tooth asked suspiciously.

"Ah… it was a while ago… long story."

Sensing the uncomfortable atmosphere – there would be time to interrogate the kid later – Bunny brought up something that had been bothering him for a while. "I don't think I've ever seen Pitch so terrified."

Jack laughed, now only one piece away from completing the repairs. "I told you, Ceres is really scary when she's mad." He held up the fixed staff triumphantly and silently vowed to freeze every single elf he came across when they got back to the Pole. He was never letting his staff out of his sight _ever_ again.

* * *

**Guest Review Responses:**

**SaiyanPrincess: Naw thank you =^w^= You're so great. **


	9. Low Batteries

**Same day update? What sorcery is this?! **

**This is based off my own recent experience, although I _do_ know what it is (but it did take me a while to figure out what was making the sound). Mine is currently buried in a pile of jumpers.**

**Sakura-blossoms-26, your request will be the next update :3**

**Disclaimer: IDOROTG**

**...**

* * *

**Low Batteries**

* * *

...

_BEEP!_

Jack sprung up in bed, instantly moving into a defensive position, wide eyes straining to survey the dark room.

Silence.

Jack ran a hand tiredly over his face, sinking back down into bed with a groan. He must have imagined it. His eyes were just closing, slipping back into the embrace of sleep.

_BEEP!_

Now he knew he wasn't imagining things. Jack stumbled out of bed and across the room where the light switch was. After the initial blinding was over, he searched the room, but there was no sign of anything that would make such an obtrusive noise. In fact, the guest room was bare save for the bed, side table and wardrobe.

_BEEP!_

"What the heck _is_ that?" Jack asked nobody in particular. His eyes roved the room, landing on a small round device on the ceiling flashing a red light every few seconds.

Confused, the winter spirit grabbed his staff and drifted up until he could get a proper look.

_BEEP!_

He nearly fell in shock from the sudden sound. He had no doubt now that it was coming from the strange device. With a frown, he used his free hand to grab onto it and tugged but the strange plastic thing didn't budge.

Jack hmphed. He squinted, noticing small words written around the edge. "Twist… to… release," he read. With a shrug, he did as was instructed, pleased at how easily the device came free. It was utterly unremarkable, and he had no idea how – or why – it had suddenly started beeping. Figuring now it was disconnected it would stop, Jack placed it down gently on the side table and went to turn off the light.

His body eagerly welcomed the prospect of sleep.

_BEEP!_

Jack sprang upright for the third time that night. Why was it still beeping?! With a frustrated sigh, he slid out of bed and turned the light back on. Grabbing the device none too gently, he looked it over, trying to find some sort of off switch.

The back of the device sported some kind of compartment, and with a small amount of prodding he managed to get it open. A small rectangular thing sat inside. _Oooh, a battery_. In hindsight, he probably should have realised. A small flick was all it took to remove the battery and he placed both it and the circular thing back on the table.

Maybe now he could _finally_ get some sleep.

_BEEP!_

"What?! WHY ARE YOU STILL BEEPING?!" Jack practically screamed. Snatching up his staff, he aimed it at the detestable device and froze it solid. "Let's see you beep now."

A small, sad red light flickered under the layer of frost and Jack narrowed his eyes. But the silence remained undisturbed.

"That's what I thought," he smirked in satisfaction.

_BEEP!_

"THAT'S IT!" Jack threw the device on the ground, more than prepared to smash it to oblivion.

"Jack? What is–" North stopped dead in his tracks at the sight that greeted him.

The winter spirit had his foot raised over some sort of frozen _thing_, his hair unruly and a manic glint in his eyes.

_BEEP!_

Jack seemed to writhe with rage, looking back down at the device with a snarl.

"No, Jack, wait!" North held his arms placatingly and Jack paused again. Almost hesitantly, the Cossack walked into the room and picked the device off the ground. It was a struggle to hold in the laugh that threatened to escape. "Jack, why did you freeze smoke detector?"

"Smoke detector?"

"Ya; if there is a fire, it detects the smoke and sounds an alarm."

"…" Jack gazed around the room. "There's no fire."

"I can see that."

"Then why is it beeping?!"

North smiled. "Is low battery alarm," he explained. "I will take and put new batteries in for you."

North shook his head with a light smile as he left the room, frozen smoke detector in hand. The poor kid looked so bedraggled. He would be sure to wait until morning before returning the detector.

* * *

**Guest Review Responses:  
**

**SaiyanPrincess: Thank you! Hehe, she's a scary one ;)**


	10. The Way the Cold Burns Part I

**Greetings, beautiful readers!**

**I know, it's been way to long, right? **

**I wanted this one-shot to actually be a one-shot - purely because there have already been so many arcs in this fic already. But it was starting to really drag on, so I'm going to split it up. **

**This fic was requested by _sakura-blossoms-26_ who requested: "So, I was thinking something weird happens and jack becomes like super mundo mega sick. Like, grit your teeth sick. You can take it from there lol :)" (love that description, by the way) I hope this meets your standards, my dear!**

**Disclaimer: IDOROTG**

* * *

**The Way the Cold Burns Part I**

* * *

...

Just as it was beautiful, so could winter be deadly. The woman huddled in the corner of the alleyway was testimony to that. She wrapped the tattered blanket more closely around herself and the two children huddled up against her, dislodging some of the snow that had begun to settle on them. The blizzard, in its ignorance, continued to rain snow down upon them.

It certainly wouldn't be the first time that the cold had snatched away life, and it certainly wouldn't be the last. But that didn't make it any easier. It was night, and Jack had thought that everyone would have been inside by now, figuring it to be the perfect time to start the blizzard. But he had forgotten that not everybody had a home to go back to.

It was his fault. And now these people were going to die because of a small detail he'd overlooked.

_…Jack._

But what could he do? How could he fix this? It was like what he'd told Baby Tooth in Antarctica: he only knew how to make people cold.

The alley was now sufficiently covered in snow, and where the white flakes hadn't settled, the ground had frozen instead. If this kept up, the three in the corner weren't going to see midnight.

He had to do something. If only he were like May or Lleu – able to melt the snow…

An idea struck him. He knew from the outset it wasn't going to be a good idea, but that wasn't going to stop him.

_Can you hear me?_

_…_

His staff grasped firmly in his hands, Jack flew up through the dark clouds, not stopping until he was in the heart of the storm. It was too large to simply blow away – and even if he did, the three in the alley were unlikely to be the only homeless in the city.

The wind that usually aided him was buffeting him around, preventing him from concentrating. It was trying to stop him, he knew, but this was the right thing to do. The time for fun and games had passed. Now he needed to be responsible.

_…Fever…too high…_

Closing his eyes, Jack ignored the way his life-long friend was pushing him around, concentrating solely on the storm surrounding him. He could feel it, the cold that he had created. So maybe he could _un_create it.

He almost faltered when the pain struck – he was never meant to destroy the cold – but he wasn't going to give up. As the blizzard started to subside, Jack could feel a deep burning in his chest, like his core, his very soul, was on fire.

When the snowfall around him had dissipated into little more than a light sprinkling of powder, Jack allowed the wind to carry him gently back to the ground, resolutely ignoring the way he stumbled upon landing.

The woman and her children, oblivious to his presence, were staring up at the sky in amazement. Jack felt a small smirk work its way onto his face. He wasn't done yet. Setting himself down on his knees, he wiped the perspiration off his forehead with the sleeve of his jumper before placing both hands flat onto the nearest snow pile.

"Don't worry," he told them, ignoring how weak his voice had become. "I'll fix this… you'll be okay…"

This was a _terrible_ idea. It was one thing to settle a storm, but to actually _melt_ the snow?! He waited a moment to catch his breath, frowning as the wind pushed against him in warning and concern.

_Get more snow!_

He couldn't believe his eyes. The snow was actually melting! He didn't think he was actually capable of doing it! For once in his life he was glad to have been proven wrong. He hadn't been wrong about it being a terrible idea, though, if the nausea that was overcoming him was anything to go by. He was too hot. His stomach protested, threatening to return everything he'd eaten earlier. But Jack ignored it, not stopping until the alley was completely free of snow and ice.

His head felt like it was underwater. His vision was blurred and sound muffled, yet somehow he was still able to spot the man hurrying down the other side of the street; likely someone who was taking the break in the weather as an opportunity to get home.

Maybe he could get the man to help…

Getting to his feet with much more difficulty than he would have liked, Jack formed a snowball in the palm of his hand. Well, it was supposed to be a snowball, but it looked rather more like a pile of slosh. That was concerning.

Pulling back his arm, he took aim and threw the snowball with as much strength as he could muster.

It missed its mark. The snowball – or what was left of it – landed with a splat a good few metres from the man, and Jack bit back the colourful curse that threatened to escape him. He didn't think he had it in him to try again. But the man had seen, and was looking confusedly down into the dark depths of the alley.

After a moment of hesitation, the man crossed the road, stopping at the mouth of the alley.

"H-Hello?" he called uncertainly.

"P-please," Jack gasped, despite knowing full well that the man wouldn't hear him. "Help them."

A small squeak of fear from the smaller child alerted the man to their presence. "It's alright," he said calmly, holding his hands up in front of him. "I won't hurt you."

The woman hugged her children closer to her, her eyes wide with fear.

"You all must be freezing," the man continued. "Why don't you come on home with me? My wife makes a mean casserole, and she always makes more than the two of us can eat."

Jack waited with baited breath, not allowing himself to breathe again until the woman seemed to deem the man safe enough, allowing him to pull her to her feet.

They would be alright now.

With a tired smile, Jack allowed the wind to lift him up off the ground, the sudden motion very nearly costing him his lunch. His mind blinked in and out of consciousness as his world spun.

_Hand me wet cloth._

…be okay?

…Jack...? …burning…

He was vaguely aware of travelling northwards – the wind seemed to be trying to take him back to the Pole. A blast of hot air. The Northern Hemisphere was in the middle of summer right now…This time he really was sick.

The air seemed to die beneath him.

He was falling… Didn't even have the energy to scream…

Darkness…

Sound was the first thing to return to him. What had been little snippets of half-heard phrases slowly began to form sentences… and not long after that he'd been able to understand what was being said around him.

"We need more snow!"

"It shouldn't be melting this fast!"

He recognised the voices, but their owners escaped him. Where was he? What had he been doing? He was starting to regain feeling and instantly wished he wasn't. He was hot. _Way_ too hot. And his stomach was churning like he'd drunk curdled milk. His muscles felt heavy and refused to budge, even at his urging. The dull ache in the back of his skull quickly grew into a full-fledged migraine and he suddenly wished he could just pass out again.

"Body temperature is at 30°*."

"We need to get some fluids into 'im."

As more and more feeling returned to him, it became increasingly hard to breathe. He gasped, desperately trying to take deep breaths but he just couldn't get enough air.

"Calm down, Frostbite. Take deep breaths. Come on!"

_I'm trying_, Jack wanted to snap back but he didn't have the strength. So, he did the only thing he could do. With great struggle, he managed to open his eyes a fraction and glared at an almost panicked Pooka standing over him. That wasn't what he'd expected. The glare lost its bite and he settled on trying to figure out what was going on.

Bunny had grabbed his hand and placed against his chest, saying something about breathing and copying but it was going straight over Jack's head. He noted the other Guardians were there, too. North seemed to be ordering yetis about, something about buckets… Tooth didn't seem able to stay still for more than a moment, looking anxious and not sure what to do with herself. Sandy was creating symbols above his head but it didn't seem like anyone else had noticed.

A furry paw grabbed his face, turning it to the side and Jack found himself staring straight up at Bunny, who could have been either annoyed or worried. It was hard to tell.

"I need you to listen to me, Jack, alright?"

Why was he in a bathtub? His jumper seemed to have wandered off somewhere, along with his staff. A strange image of his staff wearing his jumper came to mind and he could feel a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. Man, it was really starting to get hard to breathe.

"Jack!"

His face was wrenched back towards Bunny; he hadn't even noticed he'd looked away.

"Nod if you can hear me," the Pooka instructed.

It took a lot of effort, but Jack managed to do what Bunny asked.

"Okay, I need you to calm down and breathe with me, alrigh'? Slow, deep breaths. In and out."

When had his hand gotten onto Bunny's chest? He felt like he was supposed to be doing something but the headache was making it hard to think and he couldn't breathe.

"Jack, breathe! Come on, mate."

Breathe? No… all he wanted to do was sleep. He shut his eyes, intent on doing just that but a harsh jolt shocked his eyes open again.

"Tired," he tried to say, but it came out as more of a half-groaned 't'd'.

"I know, mate, but you can't go to sleep. On the count of three, I want you to take a deep breath, okay? One, two, three."

Why was he in a bathtub? And where had his jumper and staff gone?

"Jack!" Bunny said, and it was clear from his tone that he was starting to get frustrated.

"Wh't?"

"You were supposed to breathe with me!"

Oh. He'd forgotten. As if to make up for it, Jack made a show of attempting to take a deep breath, but ended up just starting a coughing fit. He felt like his insides were fighting to climb out through his throat and he retched. Someone had moved him slightly onto his side.

Why was he in a bathtub?

A bucket of snow was unceremoniously dumped onto his chest. He suddenly realised how hot he was. Why was he so hot? Bunny was saying something again… breathe? Oh, yeah, that was important.

"Here, Sweet Tooth," it was Tooth this time. She'd pushed Bunny out of the way and was holding a glass of water out towards him. When it became clear that he wasn't going to be able to take it from her, she pressed the rim of the glass to his lips and gently tilted it. "Not too fast, Jack, or you'll end up bringing it back up again."

It was hard to restrain himself; the water was like it had been sent from the MiM himself. Or maybe he was really just that thirsty. Either one.

"Now, Sweet Tooth, you really need to calm down and breathe for us, okay? Like this," she took an exaggeratedly deep breath, gently lifting his hand to her chest. "Follow my rhythm. Breathe with me."

But the darkness was starting to creep around the edges of his vision and he could barely make out what she was saying. Then all at once the world blackened and he knew no more.

...

* * *

...

Tooth ran a tired hand down her face as she flew into the Globe Room, mug of hot chocolate in hand. Jack wasn't much better than he had been when he'd arrived, and they still weren't entirely sure how he'd ended up in that state. They kept piling bucketful after bucketful of snow onto him but it melted far too quickly than it should considering Jack's position as the spirit of winter. Nothing they did would lower his dangerously high temperature.

They'd all been surprised when he'd woken; with a fever like that, they'd expected him to be unconscious for days. And then he'd started hyperventilating and Bunny had panicked and –

Tooth stopped and forced herself to calm down. There was no sense freaking out over it or she'd be of no help whatsoever. Besides, Jack wasn't their only patient.

The figure huddled under the blanket by the fireplace looked up as she flew over to him. She'd never met the spirit in person, but she knew who he was.

"How are you feeling?" she asked, handing him the mug.

"Slightly less frozen," he grinned at her, accepting the drink. "Thanks."

"We haven't been properly introduced, have we?" Tooth settled herself on the floor beside him. Her hands were numb from all the snow. "I'm Tooth."

"I know who you are," he took a sip of the drink. "I doubt there are any who don't. Although you probably already know, I'm Lleu."

They lapsed into silence.

"How is he?" Lleu asked after a moment.

"There's not much difference," Tooth sighed. "He woke up for a few minutes, but I'm not sure how aware he was. What happened?"

"To be honest, I'm not sure. One minute I was enjoying the afternoon, the next I was stopping Frost from falling out of the sky. I think he was trying to get back here, but flying through the middle of summer in his condition really wasn't a smart plan."

Tooth frowned, fiddling with her feathers. "Thank you for bringing him here. It must have been hard for you, too."

"Nah, a little snow never bothered me," Lleu shrugged airily.

Tooth raised her brow sceptically. "I find that hard to believe. You were practically frozen when Phil found you!"

"Well, I was nowhere near as bad as Jack. And, right now, he's what's important."

...

* * *

...

Bunny's brows were knitted together in concern as he poured yet another bucket of snow over the flushed figure of Jack Frost. On a normal day, it wouldn't have melted at all, so for it to be melting so quickly was a really bad sign.

He'd been ready to pound the summer spirit when Phil had dragged him into the Globe Room, an unconscious and clearly ill Jack in his arms. Lleu had been pale as a ghost, muttering about burns, and being sorry, and not knowing what happened. North had quickly ushered the kid over to the fireplace, exclaiming at how cold he was. But Lleu had nothing on Jack. Where Lleu had been frozen, Jack was practically melting.

Probably still would if they didn't figure out how to bring his fever down.

"Bunny, you should go get rest. I will take over."

Bunny looked up at North and shook his head. "Nah, mate. I think I'll stay 'ere."

"You won't do Jack any good by wearing yourself out."

"Even so," Bunny grabbed the cloth off Jack's forehead and rinsed it in a bucket of ice water before replacing it.

"Lleu is alright," Tooth announced as she fluttered back into the bathroom. "He's still a bit cold but a night by the fireplace should fix it."

"Well, that's some good news at least," North sighed.

"Bunny, you look exhausted," Tooth placed a delicate hand on his shoulder.

"I ain't leaving," Bunny said stubbornly.

"Do you want me to make up a bed for you in here so you don't have to?"

Bunny raised his head to meet her gaze. From the look on her face, it seemed she understood. "It's alright."

"Alright, but I want you to get some sleep soon, or I'll have Sandy knock you out."

At the mention of his name, Sandy smirked maliciously, pounding a ball of dream sand into his hand threateningly.

"I will… just not yet," Bunny turned back to Jack and rechecked his temperature. Still no change.

"There's got to be something more we can do," North murmured.

"If we could figure out what happened, we might get a better idea of what to do, but Lleu doesn't know. He said he was already in a bad way when he found him," Tooth replied worriedly. "We've already done everything we can. Now it's up to Jack."

...

* * *

...

The world was silent when Jack awoke the second time. Feeling had yet to return, but, he mused, that was probably a good thing. It took far more effort than it should have to force his eyes open and when he did, he instantly closed them again as the sudden light blinded him.

After waiting a moment, he tried again, happy to note that it wasn't quite as painful as before. He was lying in a bathtub, his whole body save his head covered in mostly melted snow. His jumper was missing, as was his staff, but at that moment he was too tired to care.

There was something sitting in his peripheral vision. Curious, he tilted his head but instantly regretted it. That one small action set off all the other pains and aches of his body and he had to shut his eyes until the room stopped spinning. His head was pounding and he was dizzy and his whole body felt like it was on fire.

Why was he so hot?

And then the events of his last waking moments returned to him.

He had done something stupid. He'd melted snow. But he didn't regret it. He'd never regret it. If he hadn't done it, that family would have died. It had been his fault, and therefore his responsibility to fix it. He could remember flying north, trying to get back to the Pole but not much more than that. How had he ended up in a bathtub covered in snow?

As the world righted itself once more, Jack very slowly shifted until he could see what was sitting to his side. It was Bunny.

The Pooka had his head resting on his arms while he leant against the edge of the bath, fast asleep. The sight brought a small smile to his face. So he'd managed to get back to the Pole, after all.

He could feel the water soaking into his shirt and pants, but it was doing nothing to douse the burning feeling that had overcome him. He was too hot. He felt like he was melting. He had to get up, had to get somewhere cold. The snow-banks outside would work.

Jack concentrated on moving his arms, alarmed at how weak his muscles were. After what felt like hours, he managed to manoeuvre them into position and tried to push himself into a sitting position. The slight inclination of his head was enough to set off the nausea and he had to stop before he threw up.

It took minutes before he felt like he could try again – slower this time. With a great struggle, he managed it, gripping the edge of the bath for support. As time dragged on his body grew steadily hotter, and along with temperature, his desperation to get out grew.

It took considerably longer to haul himself out of the bath than it had to sit up. He had to keep stopping every few seconds from exhaustion and pain. He was almost on his feet before a painful tug on his arm made him stop. He glanced down at the twinging appendage, only to find, to his horror, some kind of tubbed needle sticking out of it.

Jack followed the tube with his eyes until they rested on some sort of pack filled with a clear liquid hanging on a metal hook. With his mouth open and eyes wide, he yanked the needle from his arm, biting back a cry as it drew blood. What were they thinking?! Jabbing things into him! A small voice in the back of his mind told him it was probably important and that maybe he shouldn't have been so hasty in removing it, but he smothered that voice down and focused on getting over to the door.

Every so often he would look back at Bunny to make sure the Pooka was still asleep; he had a feeling the overgrown rabbit would not agree with him on the matter. But he _really_ needed to get outside. It was too hot and no bathtub of snow was going to be able to cool him down. He needed a storm.

He almost laughed at the irony of it all. A storm was what had caused this mess and now he needed one to fix it.

Walking turned out to be a little too much to ask for. Jack fell to his knees after the first step and the wall was too far away to lean on. So, with no other options available, he began a slow crawl across the bathroom floor, pulling himself back up to his feet upon reaching the doorframe.

He had to stand there for a moment, his head resting on the wood, to catch his breath. Once he felt sure he could start moving again without collapsing, he headed down the hall, the wall taking most of his weight.

The trip to the outside was remarkably quiet – only his laboured breathing and heavy footsteps breaking the silence. It was night time, apparently; that was the only explanation he could come up with. Eventually, he just couldn't keep going. He wasn't even close to the front door. Or any door that led outside.

Jack pressed his back against the wall and slid down, his head lolled backwards. His whole body was slick with sweat and he was sure he'd be nothing more than a puddle of water on the wooden floor by the time anyone found him. His eyelids grew heavy and he gave in to the exhaustion.

The sound of rattling glass brought him back to consciousness with a jolt. He looked around, but there was nothing nearby that looked as though it could have made such a sound.

Another rattle; it was coming from above.

Jack slowly raised his head and stared at the wall above him. He could have wept for joy. There was a window right there, the wind pushing violently against it.

With renewed determination, Jack gathered the last of his strength and staggered to his feet. The window was just out of reach. If he had his staff, he would have gotten to it no problem, but as it was, he would have to jump. But it was shut. How was he going to open it?

A tiny jingling sound made him freeze in place. Hesitantly, Jack turned to face a rather stunned looking elf. They stared each other down for a while, each just as shocked as the other before the elf seemed to recover from its stupor, panic overruling shock as it turned and hurried the other way down the hallway – likely to go and fetch North.

"W… wait," he rasped. "Dingle!"

He'd called the name on instinct – honestly he wasn't sure which elf it was – and he only knew the names of two, but the elf stopped. Almost comically in its slowness, the elf looked back over its shoulder towards him.

_Huh. I guess it was Dingle_. "I… I need your help."

The elf glanced from him, down the hallway and back again. "You can… go get North later…"

Dingle was still undecided and Jack could have growled in frustration.

"Come on… You owe me!"

That did it. Dingle gave a heavy sigh and waddled back over to him. He looked up with an expression of resignation.

Jack leant down and picked the small elf up – much to Dingle's protest – and, with much effort, held him up towards the window. "I need you… to open it. Don't look at me like that… just do it!"

Dingle sighed again, but did as he was instructed. As soon as it was open, the wind burst into the hall, freezing the sweat on Jack's body as it wrapped itself around him.

With that done, Jack plopped the elf back on the ground and jumped, only just managing to grab the window ledge. He dangled there for a moment, trying to find the strength to pull himself up. Dingle remained where he was, watching with something akin to concern. Or maybe it was confusion. Regret? He really didn't know anymore. His head was pounding and he couldn't think straight.

Dingle seemed to come to a decision and bolted, disappearing down the end of the hallway.

Jack took a deep breath and pulled. His arms burned with the effort and it took no less than four tries before he was able to climb up onto the window frame. He stuck his head out the window and looked down. He was on the second floor, at least, but there was a lot of snow piled below. In the end, his want for the cold outside overcame common sense and he dove out, landing face down into the powder.

* * *

***Celsius – I'm Australian and have no idea what that comparison is in Fahrenheit. Also, in my headcannon, Jack's natural body temperature is a lot lower than that of regular humans – I don't know what exactly; I'll leave that up to your imagination ;)**

* * *

**Guest Review Responses:  
**

**SaiyanPrincess: Hahaha yup XD Smoke detectors are poos. Thank you!**


	11. The Way the Cold Burns Part II

**Hey guys! Wew this one is a long one, but hey now this arc is finished! **

**It has come to my attention that I am not good at finishing things (not just limited to writing) so I do hope you'll forgive the weird ending.**

**Anyway, HUGE thank you to all of you who reviewed, faved, followed, and even just took the time to read this series. I love you all :3**

**Disclaimer: IDOROTG**

**...**

* * *

**The Way the Cold Burns Part II**

* * *

...  
Bunny was in a state of sheer and utter panic. Not only had he fallen asleep while he was supposed to be taking care of Jack, but when he'd finally woken up it was only to find an empty bathtub filled with water – only a few chunks of snow still intact.

And Jack was nowhere in sight.

The kid had been unconscious for days; his condition never getting any better. Why did he have to wake up the one time Bunny fell asleep?! No. There was no point grumbling about it now. He needed to find Jack before the kid made himself any worse.

Bunny made to run out of the room but stopped when his foot stepped in something wet. Looking down, he noticed the trail of water splashed across the floor leading out into the hallway. At least Frost would be easy to track.

Bunny got down on all fours and bolted, but he didn't even make it out the door before he collided with something solid and was pushed back, landing heavily in a heap on the floor.

"Oh, sorry, Bunny!" North reached down and pulled the Pooka back up to his feet. The Cossack's eyes widened when he caught sight of the empty bathtub. "So is true," he whispered.

"What's true?"

"Dingle," North said distractedly. "He woke me up – said Jack jumped out window."

"What?! Then why are we still standing around here?!" Bunny forced his way past the Cossack and followed the watery trail. Why Jack had run off he couldn't possibly fathom, but they needed to find him. Fast.

"Bunny? What's–"

Bunny ignored Tooth, keeping on Frost's trail. He wasn't surprised when she followed after him.

The water was starting to disperse – in some places completely gone, until it finally disappeared altogether. Bunny came to a halt, looking down both ways of the split hallway indecisively. He sniffed the air, but there was no trace of Jack's scent nearby.

"Now what?!" he groaned, pushing his ears back with a paw.

"What's going on? Bunny?" Tooth asked, flustered.

Sandy hurried around the corner on a cloud of dream sand, gesturing behind him frantically, symbols flashing above his head.

"Sandy, what is it?" Tooth tried to decipher the symbols.

A snowflake. An open window. Another snowflake.

"Show me!" Bunny ordered, understanding.

Sandy nodded and hurried away, not bothering to check if his fellow Guardians were following.

The hallway was filled with snow – that was the first thing Bunny noticed. The window was open, allowing more snow and the howling wind to enter. The Pooka had no doubt this was how Jack had gotten out.

Bunny wasted no time, jumping up and sticking his head out the window, looking down at the piles of snow below. He searched frantically, unable to find the winter spirit amongst the torrent of wind and never-ending white.

A howl, almost inhuman jerked his eyes further away from the base of the building. And then he spotted him. Jack was staggering, barely able to keep himself upright. His face was tilted up towards the sky, his arms out wide. And he was _screaming._

...

* * *

...

Jack forced his eyes open. He'd allowed his exhaustion to take control but now he needed to fix things before they got worse. The freezing snow and the added chill of the wind had helped cool him down, but there was still a long way to go before he would be 'better'.

It was much easier this time to get to his feet, but his limbs still shook with exertion, sweat beading on his brow. He staggered away from the workshop. If he was going to try and make a storm, he didn't want it to be anywhere near North's home – especially since he would have next to no control over it.

And then it hit him. How was he going to make a storm without his staff? He would have slapped himself if he had the energy. Well, he'd shown he was still strong without it against Pitch in that whole staff-stealing incident, so he'd just have to make do.

When he felt he honestly couldn't walk another step he looked back over his shoulder towards the workshop. He was disappointed to find he hadn't really gone all that far. Maybe it would just be a small storm… That was probably wishful thinking.

Jack closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. He focused on the wind wrapping around him, trying to communicate to it what he wanted it to do. But it didn't understand – continuing to do what it had been, wrapping around him protectively and trying to cool his raging fever. Furrowing his brow in growing frustration, Jack threw his arms out wide, pulled back his head and _screamed_.

He cried out all his frustration, channelling his emotions into the snow around him, willing it to whirl up – to create the blizzard he so desperately required. He tried to focus on the heat resonating in his core; to channel it out through his arms. The wind started to rile up, spinning around him, lifting the snow off the ground and forcing the clouds to gather above him. It was working!

Something grabbed him and he faltered. With panicked eyes, Jack turned to see Bunny shouting at him, but the words were lost, swept away by the wind. The Pooka was dragging him, trying to take him back towards the workshop.

"No!" he gasped, his breathing laboured as if he'd just run a marathon.

"Jack, you're gonna make yerself worse!" Bunny fought the wind, trying to get a better grip on the winter spirit.

"…Storm! Have to… make storm… Need to… let it… go."

"You can make all the storms you want once you're better!"

"No…!" Why didn't he understand? Why couldn't he see that the storm would make him better? His core was too hot; he needed to release the heat.

But he was weak, barely able to keep himself upright let alone fight against Bunny. All the energy he'd recovered in the snow-bank and the adrenalin left him, his body sagging in the Pooka's arms. The wind attempted to rescue its beloved winter spirit, but it was all in vain.

"No," he whispered brokenly. The wind and snow fell to nothingness as his world went black.

...

* * *

...

Bunny was barely able to catch Jack as he slumped lifelessly in the Pooka's arms. Alarmed, the Guardian of Hope quickly pressed a digit against the kid's neck, relieved to find a pulse beating beneath the surface.

"What the hell was he thinking?!" Bunny fumed, feeling like he had the right to be angry now that he knew Jack was just unconscious.

"Is he okay?" Tooth asked as she and Sandy hurried over to his side.

"Why would he try and make a blizzard in his condition?!" Bunny continued, ignoring her.

Sandy frowned, a few symbols appearing above him, but the two didn't seem to understand. The Sandman huffed in frustration and tried again. A sad face; a storm; a happy face. But from the blank looks he received, he assumed they still had no idea. Sandy slapped his forehead in exasperation. Sometimes he really wished he could just talk.

"Should we get him back inside?" Tooth wrung her hands together, suppressing a shiver as a blast of icy wind buffeted them.

"Is everything okay?!"

The three turned to see North standing in the workshop doorway, waving to get their attention. He was still just within earshot – Jack hadn't been able to travel too far. A part of Bunny wondered what would have happened if the kid had had his staff with him. They might not have found him at all.

"Come on," Bunny muttered, readjusting the winter spirit in his arms as he led the way back to the workshop.

"What happened?" North asked once they had been ushered inside.

"He tried to create a blizzard," Tooth explained. "Although why, I don't know."

"A blizzard?" North 'hmm'd, tapping his chin. "I will have yetis bring up more snow."

Bunny nodded and headed off in the direction of the bathroom.

"Bunny, look!" Tooth shoved the thermometer into the Pooka's face. "His temperature has gone down; it's 28°C!"

"What?" Bunny snatched the small device from her, confirming it for his own eyes. "Surely after that little stunt it would go up, not down?"

"The numbers don't lie," she replied, preparing a new IV needle. "Check again, if you don't believe me."

Bunny complied, slipping the end into the unconscious Jack's mouth. He waited a moment, watching the red liquid as if it had personally offended him. He was not pleased with the result. "30°; he's gone back up."

"What do we do? Nothing we've done has brought the fever down at all!"

Sandy waved his arms around to grab their attention, a sand storm raging above him.

"What do you mean, Sandy?" Tooth frowned. "You think the storm helped?"

"Nah, mate," Bunny placed the thermometer down on the sink. "You saw how weak he was after that."

"Well, maybe it's not the storm itself but the cold?"

"We've already piled him up with snow," Bunny sighed in defeat. "If we take him outside we won't be able to treat him properly. Unlike him, we can't handle being out in the cold like that for too long."

They lapsed into silence, avoiding each other's eyes. They were running out of ideas. And if they didn't figure out a way to lower Jack's temperature, it could do lasting damage.

...

* * *

...

It had been a week. A week since Lleu had shown up, weak and desperate, with an unconscious Jack Frost in arm. Jack had woken up only twice in that time – the first time only for a few moments and the second long enough to slip out undetected and give them all a real scare. His temperature had only risen as the hours turned to days, now sitting on 31°C. He was constantly flushed, his skin moist with perspiration. The snow they continuously poured over him seemed to be doing nothing. They'd even tried taking him outside and lying him in a snow bank but even that had proven futile.

Jack's condition was only worsening and none of them had any idea how to stop it.

"Lleu?" Tooth looked up from where she was wiping Jack's forehead with a damp cloth.

The summer spirit stood awkwardly in the doorway, concern evident on his face as he gazed at his opposite.

"I didn't know you were still here," she offered a tired smile but it wasn't returned.

"How is he?" Lleu asked, finally stepping over to her side, but careful to keep his distance from Jack.

"His temperature rose another half degree this morning. Other than that, there's been no change." Silence returned and Tooth resumed her pointless task. "What do you do… what do you normally do when you get too cold?"

"Me?" Lleu looked up at her. "It doesn't happen very often; brining him here was probably the worst it's ever been. I just stuck by the fireplace and kept as warm as possible until I felt better." He turned back to Jack. "But something tells me that there's something more going on here."

"What do you mean?" Tooth raised her head, startled by the sudden insight.

"Well, if it were merely a case of being too hot, then leaving him outside in the snow should have been enough, but it didn't fix anything," Lleu shrugged. "When I found him, he wasn't far into summer – nowhere near far enough to have gotten into the condition he was in. So I can't help but wonder what happened to start all this; I mean, surely nothing in winter could do this. It's almost like he–" Lleu trailed off abruptly, his eyes widening.

"What?" Tooth asked, her own eyes widening at the utter horror on the seasonal spirit's face.

"No… he couldn't have… he _wouldn't_…"

"Wouldn't what?"

Lleu shook his head, bolting from the room. Tooth called after him, but to no avail. She hovered for a moment, torn between chasing him and staying with Jack. She flew over to the doorway and stuck her head out, scanning the hall.

"Phil!"

The yeti turned, confusion crossing his features at her panic.

"I need you to watch Jack for me!"

"?"

"Please? I'll be back, I promise!"

Phil was still utterly confused but agreed, and Tooth hurried off without looking back.

She found him in the Globe Room.

He was staring at the fire with such an air of concentration that she wondered if he'd even noticed her come in.

"Lleu?"

The spirit of summer didn't respond, either not having heard or choosing to ignore her. Without warning, he thrust his hands out towards the fire, his eyes shut and his face a mask of utter determination.

For a moment nothing happened.

The fire started to flicker like a dying candle, and Tooth held out her own hand as if to stop him, shocked as realisation hit her.

Lleu reeled back as if he'd been stabbed, clutching at his chest in agony. The fire flickered back to life.

"Lleu! What are you doing?! Are you okay?!"

Lleu fell to his knees, curling in on himself, his breathing heavy. Tooth crouched beside him, hesitating; unsure what to do. After a few minutes his breathing evened out and he looked up at her.

"Are you alright?" she asked softly.

"I… I need to let it out…" he panted. On all fours, he crawled over to the fire. Ignoring Tooth's protest, he thrust his hand right into the centre of the flame.

Tooth jumped back as the fire roared, the flames extending to twice their height before dying back down as Lleu pulled back his hand.

"What was that?" she gasped.

"I think I know what's wrong with Jack."

...

* * *

...

"What's going on?" North asked, forcing his way into the crowded bathroom.

"I know what's wrong with Jack," Lleu announced from the far side of the room; he was well aware his presence would do nothing to help the overheating winter spirit.

"Yeah, he's got bad heat stroke," Bunny frowned, crossing his arms.

"No," Lleu shook his head. "It's more than that. This is something that can't be cured by any amount of coldness or any care from outside forces. Jack has to heal himself. So we need to wake him up."

"How?" Tooth bit her lip. "He hasn't woken up for days."

"I can't get close without hurting him, so I need to you do whatever you can. Try shaking him or something."

No one moved, none wanting to do anything that would even remotely harm their youngest member.

Lleu growled, rolling his eyes. "The longer you leave this, the worse it gets!"

That got them moving. However hesitantly, Bunny was the one to step forward. He placed his paws on the winter spirit's shoulders and shook gently.

"Jack? Come on, Frostbite; you need to wake up."

Jack's head lolled to the side from the slight force but that was all. Bunny frowned and shook harder with the same results. He looked back at his fellow Guardians helplessly.

"Let me try," North stepped forward, Sandy hastily moving out of his way. "Jack," he called, tapping the side of the boy's face with the back of his hand. "Wake up!"

Lleu ran a hand down his face and groaned. "We do _not _have time for this." He stalked forwards pushing the Guardians out of his way. He seized Jack roughly by his shirt, hauling him a little ways out of the snow-filled bathtub. "Listen up, Frost! That day I told you we weren't friends? I was lying! Because I didn't want something like this to happen! Your friends are worried about you so you're going to get up off your backside and out into the snow and heal yourself, you got that?! We can't help you. If you're too stupid as to try and melt your own snow, then that's your decision. But don't you _dare_ make the people that care about you worry because of your mistake!"

"Wait, what?" Bunny asked, sharing horrified looks with the others in the room.

Lleu gave Jack a good shake when the Guardian of Fun didn't so much as twitch. "Wake up, Jack!" Lleu took a deep breath, his expression going completely blank. "Fine," he let Jack fall back into the tub of snow. "Then you leave me no choice." Lleu rolled up Jack's sleeve and wrapped his hand firmly around the winter spirit's exposed forearm.

The reaction was instantaneous. Jack's brows scrunched together in agony, weakly trying to tug his arm away from the source of his pain. Lleu could hear the Guardians yelling at him to stop. Someone grabbed his shoulder, trying to pull him away, but he simply increased his body temperature and they were forced to let go.

Jack started to cry out from the extended exposure, the skin under Lleu's hand turning bright red.

"Wake up, Frost!" Lleu shouted down at him. "Wake up and I'll let go!"

Jack's eyes snapped open, his body springing upright with enough force to knock Lleu back. Dazed, he stared at his opposite and then winced, looking down at his burnt arm. "What did you…?" he croaked.

Lleu stepped back, trying to lessen the impact his natural heat would have on the ill winter spirit. "You need to get your staff, go outside and let it out before you kill yourself," he ordered.

Jack's attention shot up to Lleu.

"I don't know why you decided to try and melt ice; you should know the consequences of that. You got yourself into this mess, and you're the only one who can get yourself out. So get going before I have to drag you."

Tooth was the first to recover, closing her gaping mouth and flying over to Jack, helping him to get up.

"I'll go get staff," North announced before slipping out of the room.

It took five minutes of unproductive hobbling before Bunny got frustrated and hauled an indignant Jack over his shoulder and marched the rest of the way out of the workshop.

"You're an idiot," Bunny grumbled.

"…Would be better now… if you hadn't stopped me… earlier," Jack sighed.

"You wouldn't even need to get better if you hadn't pulled a stunt like that in the first place! What were you thinking?!"

"…They were going… to die… Couldn't… let them die… my fault."

"What do you mean, Sweet Tooth?" Tooth asked softly as she flew alongside them.

Jack didn't answer, his eyes sliding closed. A jostle from Bunny snapped them back open.

"No falling asleep," Bunny ordered sternly, earning him a half-hearted groan.

North rendezvoused with them at the main entrance, thoroughly thawed staff in hand. From there they all walked out into the darkness together – only Lleu remaining behind – Bunny giving Jack a light shake every few minutes to keep him awake.

Bunny carefully lowered the groggy, feverish winter spirit from his shoulder and onto the ground, leaving one paw securely on the kid's elbow to keep him upright. When they deemed him capable of concentrating for more than a minute, North handed him the staff.

"Do you know what to do?" North asked concernedly.

Jack sent a meaningful glare at Bunny. "Yes."

Bunny wisely did not comment, instead releasing Jack who leant heavily on his staff.

"You… might want to… move back," Jack warned.

The Guardians hesitated only a moment before doing as instructed – but staying close enough that they could come to his aid if the youngest Guardian required their assistance.

Jack spared them only a glance. Much like the first time, he closed his eyes, but this time he had his staff – it would be nowhere near as difficult to channel his powers. But days spent under the throes of a fever had sapped him of the little strength he had left; he could barely lift his staff let alone conjure a storm. But, he supposed, it wasn't really creating a blizzard… more like releasing one. He just hoped it wasn't so big that it damaged North's workshop. Or his fellow Guardians.

Summoning every ounce of strength he could, and ignoring the protests of his aching body, Jack lifted his conduit above his head, pointing it directly towards the sky. He focussed in on his overheated core, willing the heat to flee through his outstretched arms and into the frozen landscape around him.

He knew it was working when the burning intensified. What had originally been a flame in his chest was now an inferno raging through his body. He cried out weakly at the pain of it, his knees shaking from the exertion of keeping themselves upright. But he would not fall. He would not lose.

Slowly, agonisingly slowly, the heat directed itself through his shoulders, up his arms, and into his staff. The wood grew painfully warm in his grasp but he refused to let go. The wind intensified around him, whirling faster and faster until, even if his eyes had been open, he would have seen nothing through the swirling snow. Through the heat he could feel the ground beneath him getting colder.

And then, all at once, it was over. The heat was gone. Utterly spent, Jack fell to his knees, his arms falling limp at his sides. The snow continued its torrent around him, much larger than the one he had suppressed over a week ago. Even if he'd had the energy to lift his arm, he wouldn't have been able to see his hand in front of his face. The wind whipped past his ears, a low whistling blocking out all else.

Jack allowed himself to fall back, expecting to land in a soft dune of snow. The ground, however, was solid. He tilted his head and was surprised to find the once snow-covered landscape was solid ice. A small part of him wondered how far it stretched.

He could hear someone calling out to him, but their voice was being blown away by the wind.

"Wind," he managed, tightening his slipping grip on his staff. "Send it… further…" consciousness fled him before he could finish, but the wind understood what its beloved winter spirit wanted. Slowly, the storm moved further out, allowing the Guardians to rush to Jack's side.

"Jack!" Tooth plonked herself gracelessly down beside him, grabbing his face in her hands.

"I think his fever's broken," North said, pressing the back of his hand over Jack's forehead. "Remind me to thank Lleu."

Sandy pointed to a snowflake that had appeared above him, then over to the snow piling up on the edges of the now solid circle of ice a good hundred metres away.

North nodded, easily lifting Jack's lithe figure off the ice and over to the snow dunes. They weren't going to take any chances – they would keep him as cold as possible until they were 100% sure he was okay.

It would take another two days before Jack woke again, this time not delirious and, although weak, much better than he had been the last time. It would take a further three days after that and a great deal of love and care from his strange, mix-mashed family before he would be able to stand on his own, and another week before they would let him go back to dealing with winter – and certainly not before making him swear never to do something as stupid as melting snow again.

But Jack wouldn't make any promises.

A fortnight later it would be like nothing had even happened, with the exception, of course, of the mothering the other Guardians seemed to do that wouldn't start to die down for at least another two months. And although Jack found it annoying at times, on the whole he was indescribably grateful. He was reminded that if Pitch hadn't decided to try and destroy all belief in the Guardians, if he hadn't become a Guardian himself, then he would have been all alone with no one to help him or to care about him. A small part of him wondered if these people he considered family would have ever cared for him at all if that hadn't happened. But he buried that voice, unwilling to let his fears for what might have been rule him. Not when there were people who did care for him, regardless of how it had come to be.

A month after returning to the field, Jack saw them – the small family that he had tried to save what felt like so long ago. They were no longer huddled close together, fear dominating their features. They were walking, holding hands, and their clothes were warmer and cleaner. They were even smiling.

As he continued to watch, he followed them through the town, to where the three eventually met up with the man he had seen that night, a slender woman by his side.

A grin seeped its way onto Jack's face. The man, it appeared, had done more for these people than he could have ever hoped for. Perhaps, then, what had felt like a disaster had actually been a blessing in disguise. And, as he flew off further south, Jack couldn't help but reflect that things like that had been happening a lot lately.

* * *

**Guest Review Responses:  
**

**Guest: Thank you for the clarification ^w^ Glad you liked it!**

**Meh: Hmm... I guess probably something around 20-25°C - seeing as he is still technically human just a little on the frozen side, but I don't know. I don't really want to get into the technicalities cause I'll just end up confusing myself ^^; **

**SaiyanPrincess: Haha. Thank you so much! :3**


	12. Family Tree

**Lots of headcanon in this one, but no OCs. Hoorah! Not ****_entirely_**** happy with the ending, but meh. I wanted to update and couldn't figure out how to fix it.**

**Thank you for the love, wonderful readers :3**

**Disclaimer: IDOROTG**

...

* * *

**Family Tree**

* * *

...

Jack sat down on the soft grass in front of the worn, tilted stones. The surrounding vegetation had started to grow over the markers – the site no longer used and rarely visited by anyone. He had hardly paid the small graveyard and attention before he became a Guardian and got his memories back. But now that the faded names carved into the tombstones meant something to him he found himself unable to stay away.

'_Here lies Emma Overland, loving daughter, wife and mother*_'

The dates underneath were too far gone to be legible. Despite the gloomy atmosphere, Jack felt a small smile grace his lips. He could picture his little sister growing up into a beautiful woman. She would have made a wonderful mother. He was glad she was able to have a good life after he'd gone. His only regret was that he hadn't been there to witness it; if he'd known who she was he would have had a lot of fun watching over her and her family.

Jack turned to look at the tombstone to the left of Emma's. He recognised the name as one of the village boys they'd grown up with. Jacked hoped he and Emma had been happy together. A little further back was a joined grave-marker belonging to his parents. But it was the marker on the right of Emma's that really made his stomach drop.

_'In loving memory of Jackson Overland, died saving the life of his sister. Gone, but never forgotten'_

It gave him chills to imagine his own funeral. He looked down at himself. They wouldn't have even had a body to bury; he was living proof of that.

...

* * *

...

The sun was past its peak by the time Jack flew back into Burgess. The few hours he'd spent in the tranquillity of the graveyard, although depressing, had given him a little time to work through some of his thoughts, and to heal.

Figuring it late enough for Jamie to have gotten home from school, Jack made a bee-line for the Bennett household.

"Hey, Jack," Jamie greeted from his desk as Jack landed nimbly on the windowsill.

"What are you working on?" Jack asked, jumping down into the room.

"Our history teacher's making us draw family trees."

"Oh, like tracing your ancestors?" Jack moved to stand behind the boy, looking over his shoulder.

"Yep. Turns out our family's been in Burgess for hundreds of years."

Jack's heart froze as his eyes landed on a specific name a few generations above Jamie. "You…" his voice hitched in his throat.

"Huh?" Jamie followed his gaze. "Oh, she was my great great grandmother," he explained.

"You're related to Emma?" he whispered.

"You knew her?"

He nodded dumbly, following the lines to the names of his parents, and then down again to a solitary box with no further connections.

"Jackson was her brother," Jamie said slowly, noting what had caught the winter spirit's attention. "But he died saving her… Are you okay?"

Jack had gone several shades paler than usual. He felt like he was suffocating. To see his own name on a family tree, to realise that the words on his grave – _Gone, but never forgotten_ – hadn't been a lie…

Then something deeper sunk in. Jamie and Sophie Bennett were related to him. Were descendants of his sister.

"Ah… yeah," he shook himself, sitting heavily on the end of Jamie's bed. "Just a bit of a shock."

"What were they like? I mean, do you remember anything that I could use in my report?"

"I can't tell you much about Emma – I didn't get to see her get much older than you," Jack laughed humourlessly. "Jackson, on the other hand, I can answer any question you have about him."

"Okay…" Jamie was looking at him strangely. "How did he die?"

"Ice skating. The ice cracked and he fell in."

"How do you know?"

"I was there."

"Why didn't you do something to help him, then?" Jamie frowned.

Jack heaved a sigh. "There wasn't much that could be done. Besides, if I had, I wouldn't be here now."

"What do you mean?" Jamie put down his pencil, giving him his full attention.

"I mean, if I didn't die I wouldn't have become Jack Frost."

Jamie's mouth fell open in a silent gape. "You? _You're_ Jackson Overland?!"

"Surprise?"

"Do you know what this means?!"

"Uh… I owe you ten years worth of birthday presents?"

"I'm related to Jack Frost!"

* * *

**...**

***Jack's sister remains unnamed, but for some reason my head is quite adamant her name is Emma. Feel free to refer to her however your headcanon perceives her. I'm also a follower of the headcanon that she is related to Jamie and Sophie, so yeah… Again, perceive as you wish.**

* * *

**Guest Review Responses:**

**SaiyanPrincess: Thank you so much! =^w^= Happy to oblige!**


	13. Adopted

**So I noticed how there is a dominant theme here of angst. Jack is supposed to be the Guardian of fun, not misery and despair. So, here is a one-shot on the ****_fluffier_**** side, if you catch my drift ;)**

**I set this one pre-movie, but not by more than a few years.**

**Disclaimer: IDOROTG**

**...**

* * *

**Adopted**

* * *

...

He was supposed to be sulking. Winter was over and it was quite clear he wasn't welcome in autumn; the barren landscape of the Antarctic was the perfect place to go. But it was a bit hard to be mope-y when you were surrounded by birds.

Jack sighed as he looked up at the colony of Emperor Penguins that had gathered around him, chattering to themselves as they waddled about. Like all animals, they could easily see him, but, honestly, weren't wild creatures supposed to avoid humans?

Jack turned to the left as something nudged his arm. A large penguin of beautiful colouring wacked him with its wing repeatedly, making exasperated noises as if in impatience.

"What?" Jack raised an eyebrow. "Sorry, I don't speak penguin."

At the penguin's impatience, another, slightly smaller penguin made its way over, joining in.

"What is wrong with you guys? What do you want?"

Clearly getting frustrated, the larger penguin began obtrusively poking him in the face with its beak. Jack jumped, leaning away. The penguin gave some sort of huff, which Jack was sure was the penguin equivalent of a sigh, and proceeded to regurgitate the pre-digested remains of some dead fish onto the compact ice.

Jack's mouth opened in horror, but, seeing the glint in the smaller penguin's eye, he quickly clamped it shut. "O…kay… you wanted to feed me?" he glanced sidelong at the disgusting pile of mush then back up at the penguin. "That's very generous of you, but I'm okay, thanks. I'm not sure if you noticed, but I'm not one of your chicks."

The penguins seemed to accept that, making no move to defend the offering as a flock of five chicks hurried over, looking very much like they would topple with their wings waving about and uneven gait. With surprisingly little conflict, they shared the meal and, even more surprising, proceeded to clamber onto the unsuspecting winter spirit.

"Uh… guys, I'm not your mom, you should probably… or, you could just make yourselves comfortable…" he couldn't help but sigh as he looked down at the small, fluffy, _adorable_ babies as they fought for the dominant position in his lap. He was pretty sure one had even managed to climb up into his hood.

Jack smiled as they looked up at him and chirped.

"You're not getting any food for me. No way am I pre-digesting seafood, thank you very much."

Ever so slowly, the penguins moved closer together, until finally Jack found himself sitting in the middle of the colony. More chicks had been pushed to the centre, forming a fluffy white blanket on all sides. If it weren't for the fact that they were sitting in the South Pole, he may well have overheated.

There was a sudden cacophony of noise – a mixture of anger and alarm – as the formation broke; many penguins trying to hurry away from the shoreline while others desperately dove out of the water. Jack himself was jostled, a few penguins tugging on his hoodie, trying to get him to flee with them.

The winter spirit pulled away, allowing the wind to blow him to the front line. A large spotted seal – a leopard seal, he identified – was diving out of the water, snapping its sharp teeth at the heels and tail feathers of the terrified birds.

Without even thinking, Jack aimed his staff at the water around the seal, letting loose a blast of power. The water instantly froze, trapping the seal chest-deep in the ice. Jack gave a cry of triumph, breaking into laughter as the penguins joined in.

Satisfied that the ice would hold long enough to escape, he rejoined the colony, heading further inland.

There was a steep slope ahead; the penguins would never be able to walk down it without falling – especially the younger ones.

"Maybe we can go around," Jack suggested, pointing further along the ledge to where the snow banks were flatter.

The penguins seemed to laugh at him, keeping up their steady pace.

"Alright, humour me."

And humour him they did. In a charging fleet, the penguins threw themselves down, landing on their bellies and sliding across the ice like living toboggans. Even the chicks showed no fear in the face of such a height, chirping merrily alongside their parents.

Jack stumbled forwards as something pushed at the back of his knees.

"Whoa," he wobbled, looking over his shoulder at the penguin nudging him closer to the edge. "Wait, I'm not sure I–"

His protests were cut off as his bare feet slipped over the ice. He landed hard on his back, flying down the ice head-first, the penguins remaining on the cliff happily jumping down after him. After a minute or so of absolute terror, the penguins on either side of him began instructive quacking – not that he could understand a word of it. Maybe they were laughing at him again. A slap from a wing was all it took to push him over onto his stomach and his cries of fear quickly turned to laughter.

Observing his new friends, Jack pressed his arms flat against his body, making himself more aerodynamic as they sped across the frozen terrain. It was fun, but perhaps slightly less painful on an actual toboggan. Looking ahead, Jack's eyes widened in horror as the end of the ice slide suddenly appeared, giving out into open water.

The chicks and some of the adult penguins manoeuvred themselves, easily slowing their momentum and picking themselves up before reaching the drop off, while others opted for hurtling themselves off the edge like some sick thrill ride.

The penguins beside him showed no hints of stopping. And all at once the ground was gone and Jack was hurtling down under the force of gravity. He breathed a huge sigh of relief as the wind swept under him, catching him in the air before he broke the surface.

_MiM, these guys are insane!_ He slumped gratefully on the solid ice, spreading out his arms as he sprawled across the ground. A contented smile wormed its way onto his face as he felt the bodies of several penguins huddling up close to him.

Winter could take its time – he was quite content exactly where he was.

...

* * *

**...**

**Guest Review Responses:**

**SaiyanPrincess: You're so adorable I want to hug you w Thank you so much for your continued support!**


	14. Pineapple Sage

**I'm so sorry! I have been really swamped these last few weeks and will continue to be so for a few weeks still as exams draw ever closer. Honestly, I didn't want to post this chapter now (it's a pre-written spare) since it doesn't ****_quite_**** fit in with the light-hearted streak I wanted. Plus I wanted to give you guys a break from the OCs ^^; But I don't want to leave you hanging.**

**I was honestly staggered by the response to the last chapter! When I wrote it I was like 'are you high on something, today?' but you guys liked it, so that's okay ^w^**

**Anyways, enough of me rambling~**

**Disclaimer: IDOROTG**

...

* * *

**Pineapple Sage**

* * *

...

"That time of year already, huh?" Jack asked himself as petals dancing on a warm breeze filled the clearing that housed his lake. "I thought you were avoiding me."

The brunette landed daintily on the adjacent bank, the flowers in her long braid and her white dress stilling as the breeze died down. She made no sign that she had heard, or that she had even noticed him. Jack couldn't help but smile. That was so like her. He was pretty sure she lived by the motto 'if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all'.

May Queen went contentedly about her business, clearing the frost and snow and nurturing growing flower buds.

"What's spring like?"

Jack's question seemed to catch her off guard and she turned her head to face him. "Pardon?"

"Spring. What's it like? It's usually too hot for me to get a good look."

May was silent for a long time and Jack began to wonder if she would respond. She turned away from him, resuming her work.

Jack sighed, getting to his feet. The wind had been tugging him to move on with the winter, concerned about the temperature as always, but Jack liked to stay in his home for as long as possible.

"Colourful."

Jack started at the sudden spoken words, giving the spirit of spring his full attention. She had her back to him, but seemed aware of his confusion.

"Spring," she clarified. "It's colourful. And warm."

"Oh," he shifted, a light smile on his face. This was the most response he'd ever gotten out of her. "I'll have to keep an eye out for a cold day."

A silence settled over them, but it was nothing like the awkward one that usually accommodated their encounters. This one was more… peaceful. The wind gave another restless tug as the sun reached its zenith. The temperature was rising as the days went past and, while he could stay in moderately warm temperatures, he would need to leave before long.

He moved to allow the wind to carry him but stopped when he heard the call of his name. Looking back over his shoulder, he was surprised to see May watching him, a slight furrow to her brow and a flower held delicately in her small hands.

"Here," she said, and the petal-ridden breeze carried the flower over to him.

The edges of its petals began to frost as he caught it, but he paid that no mind, sending the spring spirit a quizzical expression.

"It's a pineapple sage," she explained. "An edible flower. You don't look like you've eaten in a while."

Jack stood bewildered as May, seemingly embarrassed, returned to her gardening.

"Thank you," he said, genuinely touched. When she did not so much as glance at him, Jack took his cue to leave and allowed the wind to carry him down south.

* * *

When he returned that winter, Jack was surprised to see the lake surrounded by a beautiful assortment of winter flowers.

* * *

**...**

**Guest Review Responses**

**SaiyanPrincess: Glad you liked it :3**

**Guest: Haha thank you! I fully intend to ;)**


End file.
